Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens to use nuclear weapons against the West

Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken aim at the West in his annual address, warning NATO that he has them in his sights.

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address at the Gostiny Dvor conference centre in central Moscow on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)

Vladimir Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons against the West if they send troops into Ukraine.

The Russian President took aim at NATO nations warning them that Russia had weapons that could strike in their territory.

In a rambling speech two weeks out from Russia’s elections, he also accused the West of sparking another Cold War arms race.

Major Western nations have continued to pledge support to the tune of billions of dollars to Ukraine in the country’s now two-year long war against the invading Russian military.

The ongoing support has further skewed Russian nationalists, who believe Ukraine has always been Russian territory and that the invasion is merely a “special military campaign”, against the West

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address at the Gostiny Dvor conference centre in central Moscow on February 29, 2024.

“They 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,” Putin said.

Recent comments made by Emmanuel Macron have added fuel to the fire.

The French President has refused to rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine, sparking a firestorm of controversy with allied nations, particularly Germany.

But US President Joe Biden said it “has been clear that the US will not send troops to fight in Ukraine”.

Putin said that as soon as a NATO boot passes into Ukraine, the world will be in “danger of nuclear conflict”.

“They have announced the possibility of sending Western military contingents to Ukraine... The consequences for possible interventionists will be much more tragic,” Putin said.

Putin believes a powerful Russia is essential to maintaining global geopolitical stability, citing ties with several nations friendly with his regime. He also stressed how important it was for Russia to strengthen relations with the Middle East and Latin America as the West systematically severs its economy.

“Without a sovereign, strong Russia, a strong world order is impossible,” he continued.

He also took shots at countries with rapidly declining birthrates, accusing governments of “destroying moral standards and pushing people towards extinction”.

Turning away from war, the Russian president urged the people of Russia to “stop drinking, take up skiing”.

He also called on citizens to “devote most of their time to the family”.

“A large family with many children should become the norm in Russia,” he said.

“The average life expectancy in Russia is now 73 years. It should be at least 78 years by 2030. After that, we should reach 80-plus level.

“It is important that healthy, active life expectation increases in the Russian Federation.”

Among several accusations levelled at NATO nations, the most worrying was the 71-year-old warning West that Russia had weapons that could strike within their territory.

While analysts believe Russia could unleash its nuclear weapons arsenal to ring in an official beginning to WWIII, Putin has previously admitted that would be a step or two too far.

He believes the more pressing conflict with the US at the present is the war of information.

“In the war of propaganda, it is very difficult to defeat the United States, because they control the world’s media and many European media. The ultimate beneficiary of the biggest European media (outlets) are American financial institutions,” he told Tucker Carlson in their revealing interview earlier this month.

“We can only simply shine the spotlight on our sources of information, but we will not achieve results.”

Putin’s address, which was broadcast across the nation and even made available in Russian cinemas, comes a fortnight before the presidential election, which he is undoubtedly set to win.

It also came on the eve of the funeral planned in Moscow for dissident Alexei Navalny, who died in prison on 16 February following a long campaign against totalitarianism.

Putin has remained silent on Navalny’s death, which has continued to stoke outrage amongst democracy advocates both in Russia and globally.