Putin issued an ominous nuclear threat in worrying new speech

Vladimir Putin issued an ominous nuclear threat against Western countries among other concerning comments that he made during his annual state of the nation address. Here is what Putin said and why you should be worried about his remarks. 

Putin’s nuclear threat came as a response to earlier remarks made by French President Emmanual Macron in which he told reporters at a press conference that “nothing should be ruled out” when asked if the West should deploy troops to Ukraine. 

CNN reported Macron said: “We will do anything we can to prevent Russia from winning this war.” This is likely why Putin spent a portion of his speech warning the West against sending troops to Ukraine and outlining the consequences of doing so. 

"There has been talk of sending NATO contingents to Ukraine. But we remember the fate of those who sent contingents [in the past],” Putin explained according to Politico. “Now the consequences for the interventionists will be much more tragic." 

"We too have weapons that can hit targets on their territory,” Putin added. “This really threatens a conflict with nuclear weapons, and thus the destruction of civilization.” But this wasn’t the only controversial thing that Putin explained in his speech. 

Putin made it clear that Russia needed to strengthen its troop presence on its Western borders in order to defend against the new threats posed by Finland and Sweden now that both countries had joined NATO. 

Reuters provided a report that highlighted Putin’s updates on the invasion of Ukraine, the country’s nuclear capabilities, and the Kremlin’s relations with the Western nations. When it comes to the war in Ukraine, Putin was clear Russia didn’t start it. 

"We did not start this war in Donbas. As I have said many times, we will do everything to end it, to eradicate Nazism. To fulfill all the tasks of the special military operation,” Putin explained, “To protect the sovereignty and security of our citizens."

Interestingly, Putin also claimed the “combat capabilities” of the Russian Armed Forces had increased and added that they held the initiative in the war. “They are confidently advancing in a number of operational directions, liberating new territories."

In terms of Putin’s dialogue with the United States, the Russian President noted that he was ready to talk with Washington about "strategic stability" but ridiculed the recent claims that Moscow was planning to deploy nuclear weapons into space. 

"There have been more and more unsubstantiated accusations against Russia, for example, that we are allegedly going to deploy nuclear weapons in space. Such innuendo… is a ploy to draw us into negotiations on their terms, which are favorable only to the United States,” Putin said. 

Putin also claimed NATO and the West provoked war in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as in other regions of the world. He added that the West “continues to lie, without any embarrassment, saying that Russia allegedly intends to attack Europe."

Putin’s most concerning moments during his speech may have come when he reviewed the state of Russia’s nuclear arsenal. The Russian President said the country’s strategic nuclear forces were in a “state of full readiness for guaranteed use."

More worrying than Putin’s nuclear threats was the revelation that Russia’s hypersonic dagger (Kinzhal) system had been put into service and that the country’s hypersonic sea-based Zircon had been used in battle. 

Putin also explained to his audience that the intercontinental Avangard system was on combat duty and that the tests of Russia’s new “Burevestnik unlimited-range cruise missile” had been finalized.

“​​The first mass-produced Sarmat heavy ballistic missiles have been delivered to the troops,” Putin said, later claiming that the West was trying to draw Russia into a new arms race to repeat the success against the Soviet Union. 

Photo Credit: By Unknown Author,  CC BY 4.0

"Therefore, our task is to develop the defence-industrial complex... [and] the scientific, technological and industrial potential of the country,” Putin added, which is a worrying sentiment for world peace and the security of nations.