Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Western countries on Thursday that they risk initiating a nuclear war if they send troops into Ukraine, saying Russia has the weapons to strike targets in the West.
During his annual state of the nation address, the Russian leader said Western nations “must realize 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 civilization. Don’t they get that?”
Although Ukraine’s Western allies have sent vast munitions to the Kyiv government in its fight against the 2022 Russian invasion, none has said it would send troops to fight alongside Ukrainian forces.