Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that if the West continues to interfere with the country’s ongoing war against Ukraine, Moscow is prepared to go nuclear.
This week, some European Union NATO members raised the possibility of sending allied troops to Ukraine to bolster the country’s defenses against Russia, with French President Emmanuel Macron going so far as to say “nothing can be ruled out” in ensuring Kyiv’s military victory.
Putin stated in his annual address on Thursday that Russia’s nuclear forces are prepared for conflict if Western nations send troops to Ukraine, warning that Moscow is capable of striking them directly.
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“The strategic nuclear forces are on full combat alert, and the ability to use them is assured,” Putin said. “Efforts to develop several other new weapons systems continue, and we are expecting to hear even more about the achievements of our researchers and weapons manufacturers.”
“The West has provoked conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and other regions around the world while consistently propagating falsehoods. Now, they have the audacity to say that Russia harbors intentions of attacking Europe. Can you believe it?” said Putin. “We all know that their claims are utterly baseless. And at the same time, they are selecting targets to strike on our territory and contemplating the most efficient means of destruction. Now they have started talking about the possibility of deploying NATO military contingents to Ukraine.”
Putin added, however, that nuclear conflict should be avoided because it would almost certainly result in “global destruction.”
“Everything they are inventing now, spooking the world with the threat of a conflict involving nuclear weapons, which potentially means the end of civilization – don’t they realize this? The problem is that these are people who have never faced profound adversity; they have no conception of the horrors of war. We – even the younger generation of Russians – have endured such trials during the fight against international terrorism in the Caucasus and now in the conflict in Ukraine. But they continue to think of this as a kind of action cartoon?” said Putin.
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“But we remember what happened to those who sent their contingents to the territory of our country once before. Today, any potential aggressors will face far graver consequences. They must grasp that we also have weapons – yes, they know this, as I have just said – capable of striking targets on their territory,” Putin said.
He stated that the United States and the West must collaborate with Russia to ensure an “indivisible security framework” in the Eurasia region.
“Russia is ready for dialogue with the United States on issues of strategic stability. However, it is important to clarify that, in this case, we are dealing with a state whose ruling circles are taking openly hostile actions toward us. So, they seriously intend to discuss strategic security issues with us while simultaneously trying to inflict strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield, as they themselves say.
Putin also referenced and denied the nuclear space threat that Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, brought to the light the existence of an unspecified “serious national security threat” and demanded that President Joe Biden declassify the information for the public.
“Here is a good example of their hypocrisy. They have recently made unfounded allegations, in particular, against Russia, regarding plans to deploy nuclear weapons in space. Such fake narratives, and this story is unequivocally false, are designed to involve us in negotiations on their conditions, which will only benefit the United States,” said Putin.
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