Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned NATO against sending its troops to help Ukraine, in an explicit nuclear threat.
“There has been talk of sending NATO contingents to Ukraine. But we remember the fate of those who sent contingents [in the past]. Now the consequences for the interventionists will be much more tragic,” Putin said in a speech to Russia’s parliament.
“We too have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. This really threatens a conflict with nuclear weapons, and thus the destruction of civilization,” he added.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday floated the idea of sending Western troops to assist Ukraine in fighting off Putin’s full-scale invasion, which met a furious response from the Kremlin and was also shot down by other NATO allies, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.
This story is being updated.
