By Alexander Smith—
NBC News
Russian leader Vladimir Putin intensified his threats against Western countries on Thursday, warning that if they send troops to assist Ukraine in its war against Russia they will risk provoking a global nuclear war.
Putin made his threat at the beginning of his annual state of the nation address, on the eve of the March presidential election, which he is certain to win.
The president spoke for more than two hours to the Federal Assembly in the immense and grandiose Gostiny Dvor conference center in Moscow, surrounded by heavy security measures and with the surrounding streets cordoned off.
Putin addressed a range of issues, from Russia's low birth rate to the need to improve broadband coverage.
But what stood out internationally was his warning
against further Western involvement in Ukraine.
A woman carries her child next to the train station destroyed by a Russian missile attack in Konstyantynivka, Ukraine, on February 25, 2024. Anatolii Stepanov / AFP - Getty Images
His comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron suggested this week that NATO countries could send troops to Ukraine in the future, rather than just funding and arming the country.
Macron's suggestion was immediately rejected by the United States and other nations, but Putin said it could lead to a war with apocalyptic consequences.
“This is very dangerous because it could trigger the use of nuclear weapons
,” he said. “Don't you understand?”
The Russian leader added that his strategic nuclear forces were at “full readiness” and suggested that a hypersonic nuclear weapon, which he first mentioned in 2018, was approaching a full state of readiness, something that cannot be independently verified.
Putin has made such threats often in the past two years, since his large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
But this has been, in the opinion of some observers, the most forceful.
Putin's annual speech comes at a crucial time for his regime, with his forces advancing into Ukraine.
The death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and internal problems have fueled criticism at home and abroad, but Putin may benefit from growing signs of doubt about Western support for Ukraine.
On Monday, Macron caused a stir by suggesting that the West “should not exclude” the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine.
This would be a big practical and symbolic step for allied support for that country, which has so far extended to providing billions of dollars for its defense but has deliberately stopped sending troops for fear of starting a direct war with Russia.
The United States and other countries soon shot down the idea.
The White House stated that
“it has become clear that the United States will not send troops to fight in Ukraine.”
Mark Galeotti, director of the consultancy Mayak Intelligence and an honorary professor at University College London, said Macron had given Putin a “propaganda gift” because it pushed the Russian leader's narrative that Russia is fighting the West in general, and not only against Ukraine.
During Putin's speech, "his reference to possible NATO deployments in Ukraine was not so much to warn the West, but rather he used it to reinforce his message that this is a fight against the entire collective West," Galeotti told NBC. News.
“Macron gave him a kind of propaganda gift,” he concluded.
[Putin brags about his “personal relationship” with Trump in his first interview after the invasion of Ukraine]
Five days ago marked the second anniversary of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, a war that started badly for Putin with heavy troop losses;
Russia is recently gaining ground on the battlefield, while in the United States the Republican political bloc is preventing the sending of aid.
President Joe Biden recently called the Russian leader a “crazy son of a bitch” for making nuclear threats against the West.
Putin described the comments as “rude” but, nevertheless, specified that he would prefer the current president in the White House over former President Donald Trump.
And that's despite the fact that Trump has suggested that he would allow Russia to attack NATO allies and has said that he would stop military aid to Ukraine.
A day after Putin's speech, the funeral will take place for Navalny, who died in an Arctic penal colony on February 16 in what his family and team have claimed was an assassination directed by Putin, something his government denies.
Navalny was a rare voice of dissent in Russia, where Putin has eradicated most forms of political opposition, independent media and freedom of expression.
In March, the Russian president is running for a fifth term, but the elections will be a farce due to the lack of freedom and democracy in Russia.
With all of his real adversaries in jail, exiled or dead, his overwhelming victory is certain.