Russia: Putin threatens nuclear weapons capable of “destroying civilization” after Macron’s idea to send troops to Ukraine | International

Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened Thursday to opt for the nuclear option if the West supports Ukraine militarily. “Russia’s adversaries must remember that we have weapons capable of hitting targets on their territory and that everything they propose scares the whole world. “All this threatens a conflict with nuclear weapons and, as a result, the destruction of civilization,” the Russian president warned in his annual speech to the Russian Parliament, referring to French President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial suggestion to support Kiev with the West. troops. Although Paris later clarified that these units would not enter combat and would only train Ukrainian soldiers, the idea sparked public debate in various Western countries.

“We remember the fate of those who once sent their contingents to our territory, but the consequences for the interventionists will now be much more tragic,” Putin warned in front of the Federal Assembly, an auditorium where the entire Kremlin elite was present. , from the office. from ministers to deputies of both Russian houses, the State Duma and the Federation Council.

This is not the first time in these two years of war that Putin has threatened to go all the way if the West helps kyiv, although so far there has been no response. “Faced with a threat to the territorial integrity of our country, we will use all means at our disposal (including nuclear means) to protect Russia and our people; “This is not a bluff,” the president had already declared in September 2022, when Russia had annexed on paper four regions of Ukraine that kyiv contested on the ground with Western weapons.

Putin reiterated once again that Russia has not attacked anyone and that its invasion of Ukraine is “a special military operation”, even though last Saturday 24 it entered its third year of bloodshed. Likewise, he asserts that Russia is not an aggressor, but rather a victim of an alleged Western attack.

“The West has provoked conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and other parts of the world and continues to lie. Today, without any shame, he claims that Russia intends to attack Europe. You and I know they are talking nonsense. They are the ones who choose the targets to attack on our territory and choose the most effective means of destruction. Now they are starting to talk about sending troops to Ukraine,” Putin said. With this phrase, he also referred to Ukrainian attacks on military targets on Russian territory, from war industry and fuel depots to intelligence aircraft that monitor the front from hundreds of kilometers away.

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