Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened this Thursday (29) to use nuclear weapons “capable of destroying the world” in Ukraine.
In a State of the Nation address in Moscow, Putin said he could use this type of weaponry if the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) sends troops to fight against Russia in the war in Ukraine.
As a result, the possibility of sending NATO troops was raised at the beginning of the week by the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, who is part of the Western military alliance.
Other members of the organization, such as the United States, United Kingdom and Germany, denied there was a plan to send soldiers to Ukraine, but Macron’s threat generated an immediate reaction from Russia.
Addressing lawmakers and members of the country’s elite, Putin said Western leaders did not understand how dangerous their meddling in what he considers a war of “internal affairs” could be.
“(Western nations) must realize that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. All of this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Don’t they realize that?!” said Putin.
Furthermore, the Russian president, who is running for reelection this year, said he also has a “largely modernized nuclear arsenal, the largest in the world.”
“Strategic nuclear forces are in a state of full readiness,” he said, noting that the new-generation hypersonic nuclear weapons he first spoke of in 2018 had been deployed or were at a stage where development and testing were being completed.
