Russian President Vladimir Putin assessed today that threats from Western countries create a “real” risk of nuclear conflict, saying that Russia has weapons “capable” of reaching the territories of those countries. Western countries “must understand that we also have weapons capable of hitting targets on your territory,” Putin warned during his address to the nation.
“Everything that (Western countries) are inventing now, with which they are scaring the world, it all represents a real threat of conflict with the use of nuclear weapons, which means the destruction of civilization,” Putin said. In his speech, the Russian president hailed the advance of his forces in Ukraine, which in recent weeks have achieved several successes against Ukrainian forces on the defensive and short on ammunition.
“The military capabilities of the (Russian) armed forces have increased manifold. They are advancing confidently in several directions” of the front, Putin added. In his addresses to the nation, Vladimir Putin traditionally takes into account the past year and sets new strategic directions, in front of the political and military elite of his country.
The speech was held ahead of tomorrow’s funeral of his main opponent Alexei Navalny, who died on February 16 in prison under unclear circumstances, Beta news agency writes.
