Vladimir Putin has warned of a World War 3 “global conflict” as he issued a nuclear threat during his major speech today.
The Russian President has threatened to take the war cross-border and appeared to justify the use of nuclear weapons in the State of the Nation speech ahead of the one-year anniversary of his war in Ukraine.
In the very rambling speech, he took nearly half an hour before a specific threat was made.
Putin railed against the West in his long-delayed state-of-the-nation address – and said it was seeking to turn the war into a “global conflict”.
He also frequently justified his invasion of his neighbour by accusing Western countries of threatening Russia: “It’s they who have started the war. And we are using force to end it.”
In his first direct warning, he said: “The more long-range Western systems are being delivered to Ukraine, the farther we will be forced to move the threat from our borders.”
He also used language which indicated a defeat in Ukraine would justify the use of nuclear weapons.
Keir Giles, an expert on security issues affecting Russia, told the Mirror that Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons were more subtle than we have heard previously, but were still there.
However, people have noted he has made similar threats before.