On video: Ukrainian President Zelensky welcomes Western leaders in Kiev/Telegram
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned today (Thursday) that if NATO sends troops to Ukraine, a nuclear war could break out. He said these words during his annual speech to the Russian Parliament.
The scenario of direct involvement of the Western countries in the war, which is in its third year, was raised this week on by French President Emmanuel Macron. However, the United States and other European countries were quick to clarify that they do not intend to send ground forces to Ukraine, and in Paris they also tried to clarify Macron's words. Putin
, who will run for another term next month, said that the army must strengthen the western wing His following the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in his annual speech to the parliament in Moscow, February 29, 2024/Reuters
Throughout the war in Ukraine, which began with the invasion of Putin's forces on February 24, 2022, Putin has raised the danger of a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia, but his warning today is one of the most explicit he has yet issued. Putin added that Moscow has the means to attack targets on the territory of The
71-year-old Putin has warned Western countries not to interfere in Russia's internal affairs, ahead of his assured victory in next month's elections and following the mysterious death in prison of his rival Alexei Navalny, he told members of parliament and the Russian elite that Western leaders do not understand how "dangerous" their interference can be The war in Ukraine caused the most serious crisis in Moscow's relations with the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis
in
1962, which brought the Soviet Union and the United States closer to a nuclear conflict
.
All this really threatens to come to a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization.
Don't they understand that?!" said Putin, who raged throughout the speech while praising Russia's upgraded nuclear arsenal, which he said is also the largest in the world.
"The strategic nuclear forces are in a state of full readiness," declared Putin, who boasted that The new generation of hypersonic nuclear weapons he first spoke about in 2018 are in use after the development and testing phase.
As usual, the Russian president turned to history and reminded Western leaders of the fate of Adolf Hitler and Napoleon, whose attempt to invade Russia failed and ultimately led to their downfall.
"The results now will be Much more tragic," Putin said. "They think war is a caricature," he said. According to him, Western politicians have "forgotten" what a real war means because they have not faced the same security challenges as the Russians in the last three decades.
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Vladimir Putin
The war in Ukraine
Russia