Putin warns NATO: 'We risk nuclear war' - News.com.au. Russian president: Western countries must remember that Moscow also possesses "weapons capable of reaching their territories" Putin: "Everything the West is devising really leads to the threat of a conflict with nuclear weapons and therefore the annihilation of civilization" Transnistria, the secessionist entity on Moldovan territory, was conspicuous by its total absence in the more than two hours of his speech, interrupted by 80 rounds of applause.