Vladimir Putin accuses the West of playing a “dangerous and dirty game” and seeking to escalate the war in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at length on Thursday about the war in Ukraine in his speech to a Moscow-based thinktank.

He accused the West of playing a “dangerous and dirty game” and seeking to escalate the war in Ukraine—adding that the West is blinded by colonialism.

In a long ramble, Putin railed against “arrogant” Western leaders who he said were set on imposing their values on the rest of the world—but, said that Russia does not consider itself an enemy of the West.

Meanwhile, on the same day, back in Washington D.C. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the Pentagon that China remains the greatest security challenge for the United States despite Russia’s war in Ukraine.

China “is the only competitor out there with both the intent to reshape the international order, and increasingly the power to do so,” Austin said.

According to a new Pentagon defense strategy, the threat from Beijing will determine how the U.S. military is equipped and shaped for the future.

While conflict with China “is neither inevitable nor desirable,” the document also describes an effort to prevent Beijing’s “dominance of key regions” — which is believed to be a reference describing China’s aggressive military buildup in the South China Sea as well as its continued desire for Taiwan.

The 80-page, unclassified report also warns that the People’s Republic of China is working in the Indo-Pacific to undermine American alliances while harnessing its ever-expanding military to intimidate and threaten regional neighbors.

Additionally, the report notes Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine saying that Moscow is a serious threat to the U.S. and its allies, sue to nuclear weapons, long-range missiles, and cyber operations.

Tying both geopolitical threats together—the document warns that is China and Russia continue to grow as partners, they are posing “more dangerous challenges to safety and security at home, even as terrorist threats persist.”