Putin warns West over 'real' risk of nuclear war, announces deployment of new hypersonic weapons
Vladimir Putin
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (Feb 29) delivered his annual state-of-the-nation address and updated Russians about the ongoing war against Ukraine.
He talked about Moscow's nuclear capabilities by announcing the deployment and tests of new hypersonic weapons. Putinalso issued a warning to the West saying that Russia had weapons that could strike within their territory and that their threats created a "real" risk of nuclear war.
At the address, which came ahead of a March 15-17 presidential election, Putin said, "They [West] should eventually realise that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory."
"Everything that the West comes up with creates the real threat of a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons, and thus the destruction of civilisation," he added.
The war in Ukraine, which started on February 24, 2022, has led to the worst crisis in Moscow's relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
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During the course of the war, Putin has issued several warnings to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members againstsending military assistance and ground troops to Ukraine as he said it would cause a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia.
"They have announced the possibility of sending Western military contingents to Ukraine... The consequences for possible interventionists will be much more tragic," he said.
Watch: Russian forces destroy US-made Abrams tank Avdeyevka area
Putin's comment came a few days after French President Emmanuel Macron refused to rule out sending troops to Ukraine. However, several key NATO members, including the United States, said they would not send troops to fight in Ukraine.
Germany, Britain, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic have already distanced themselves from any suggestion they might commit ground troops to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Russia previously warned that he was "not bluffing" when he said he was ready to use nuclear weapons, Putin had appeared in recent months to dial down his nuclear threats. Russia has also pulled out of arms control treaties with the US.
The latest warning comes with the Kremlin's recent gains on the battlefield in Ukraine, but also an economy that has largely defied sanctions and ahead of an election certain to extend Putin's term in the Kremlin until 2030.
(With inputs from agencies)