Putin says NATO is 'taking part' in the Ukraine conflict: What does he mean?

n Ukraine, fighting has intensified in the east between Russia's mercenary Wagner group and Ukrainian forces. Wagner claims it is taking over villages around the key city of Bakhmut. But Ukraine says the villages remain under Kyiv's control.
And Russian President Vladimir Putin has been trying to portray the war in Ukraine as a response to what he calls an existential threat from the West. He repeated the accusation in an interview to the state TV on Sunday saying Ukraine's allies were planning to "disband" his country.
The claim, which had been dismissed by Western countries, comes as the EU approved a 10th package of sanctions against Russia on Saturday. The latest measures include further export bans worth more than 11 billion euros. The bloc also added more than 120 inviduals complicit in the war to its sanctions list.