In a stark warning to Western nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin cautioned against the deployment of troops to Ukraine, highlighting the potential for triggering a nuclear war.
Speaking to lawmakers and elites in Moscow, Putin emphasized Moscow’s capacity to strike Western targets.
“(Western nations) must realise that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilisation. Don’t they get that?!” said Putin.
The remarks come amidst the most severe crisis in Russia’s relations with the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
Putin accused Western powers of seeking to weaken Russia and meddling in its internal affairs. He specifically referenced French President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion of European NATO members sending ground troops to Ukraine, a proposal swiftly rebuffed by major Western nations.
Asserting Russia’s military prowess, Putin praised the modernization of the country’s nuclear arsenal, highlighting the deployment of new-generation hypersonic nuclear weapons. He cautioned against underestimating the consequences of provoking conflict with Russia, evoking historical examples of failed invasions.
“Strategic nuclear forces are in a state of full readiness,” he said, noting that new-generation hypersonic nuclear weapons he first spoke about in 2018 had either been deployed or were at a stage where development and testing were being completed.
Amid Russian advances in Ukraine, Putin announced plans to bolster troop deployments along the western borders with the European Union, following Finland and Sweden’s decision to explore NATO membership. However, he dismissed assertions of Russian aggression beyond Ukraine as “nonsense.”
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“Recently there have been more and more unsubstantiated accusations against Russia, for example that we are allegedly going to deploy nuclear weapons in space. Such innuendo… is a ploy to draw us into negotiations on their terms, which are favourable only to the United States,” he said.
“…On the eve of the U.S. presidential election, they simply want to show their citizens and everyone else that they still rule the world.”
While expressing openness to discussions on nuclear strategic stability with the United States, Putin accused Washington of levying unsubstantiated accusations against Russia. He suggested that the U.S. was more focused on geopolitical maneuvers, including attempts to dictate negotiation terms.
