President Putin warns of risk of nuclear war with the West

Speaking in his State of the Nation Address to the Russian Parliament on February 29, President Vladimir Putin warned the West that there was a real risk of nuclear war if these countries sent troops to fight in Ukraine and he said Moscow had weapons to attack targets in the West.

Speaking before the Russian parliament, Mr Putin said Western leaders did not understand how dangerous their interference in Russia's internal affairs could be.

He began his warning by specifically referring to an idea floated by French President Emmanuel Macron on February 26 for NATO members to send troops to Ukraine – a proposal that was quickly rejected by the US, Germany, Britain and others.

“(Western countries) must realize that we also have weapons that can strike targets on their territory. All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization,” Mr Putin said.

The war in Ukraine has caused the worst crisis in Russia's relations with the West since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 and President Putin has previously warned of the dangers of a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia.

The Russian president suggested that Western politicians recall the fate of people like Nazi Germany's Adolf Hitler and France's Napoleon Bonaparte, who unsuccessfully attacked Russia in the past.

“The consequences for potential intervenors would be much more dire,” he stressed, in what was seen as a clear warning to the West.

President Putin said the West “propagandizes that Russia is capable of attacking Europe – and you and I understand that they are talking nonsense – and at the same time they are choosing targets for attacks on our territory.”

The Federal Address is one of the important annual speeches of the President of Russia, prescribed by the Constitution, in which the President of Russia will provide information on the situation in the country, developments over the past year, as well as areas that will become priorities in domestic and foreign policy in the future.

This is the 29th message from the Russian Presidents and the 19th message from President Putin.

President Putin delivered his first state-of-the-nation address to the Federal Assembly on July 8, 2000, when the event was held in the Kremlin’s Marble Hall. The address, entitled “How We Build Russia,” lasted about 49 minutes.

During his entire presidential term, Mr. Putin did not deliver the federal message twice, in 2017 and 2022.

According to Reuters news agency, Mr. Putin's Federal Message took place two weeks before the presidential election in which Mr. Putin is expected to win a resounding victory for another six-year term.