Putin also warned Wednesday that the presence of American troops on Russian or Ukrainian territory would be considered an escalation and “this is how we will treat it,” though he added that he didn’t believe that was likely to occur.
Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron triggered uproar among his Western allies when he refused to rule out the prospect of sending Western troops to Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden categorically ruled out the idea.
Putin last year revoked Russia’s ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), and on Wednesday repeated that Russia would consider restarting nuclear testing if the U.S. does so.
“If they conduct such tests, I do not rule it out,” he said.
