Putin threatened the West with nuclear weapons again
Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the Valdai Club meeting, expressed that there is no guarantee nuclear weapons will not be used, stating that if the situation escalates, "neither school textbooks nor those who read them will remain" in the world. He once again blamed the West for the war in Ukraine.
Putin threatened the West with nuclear weapons again
According to DW, on the evening of Thursday, October 1, at the plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club, Putin spoke about a scenario that could lead to "catastrophic consequences" for the world.
The Russian leader reminded that a number of countries possess weapons "capable of destroying all living things." He posed the question of whether there is confidence that such weapons would not be used, and answered it himself in the negative.
Putin compared nuclear weapons to a rifle hanging on a theater stage, which, according to the laws of the genre, must go off at some point.
"The laws of the struggle for survival apply not only in living nature, but also in social communities," he said. Through this, Putin hinted that Russia might be forced to take drastic measures.
At the same time, he added that efforts must be made to ensure that "this rifle" does not fire.
"If we want to live — and everyone wants to live — let's live in harmony," the Russian president said.
He stated that if the situation escalates further, "there will be neither school textbooks nor those who study from them." In this way, Putin once again mentioned the possibility of a global nuclear catastrophe.
Speaking about Russia's war in Ukraine, which has been ongoing for five years, Putin again claimed that Moscow allegedly "did not start the war." He tried to present Russia's invasion of Ukrainian territory as a response to the actions of NATO and Kyiv.
"The truth is that we did not want to fight and we did not start it; on the contrary, a war was started against us," he said.
According to Putin's interpretation, the West had for years encouraged "aggressive nationalism and Russophobia" in Ukraine, trying to turn the country into a "weapon" against Russia. He also claimed that "radicals" in Kyiv were supported by instigating a coup d'état, and that NATO intended to deploy its bases in what he called Russia's "historical territories."