Vladimir Putin has appeared to threaten nuclear strikes if any country tried to attack Russia in retaliation in a terrifying speech. The president said the “consequences” of any attempt to strike back following the country’s invasion of Ukraine would provoke a response “never seen in history”.
In an address to the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that “diplomatically, politically, economically – and eventually, militarily – this hideous and barbaric venture of Vladimir Putin must end in failure”. Analysts believe the threat of deploying nuclear weapons should the Russian Army be attacked by forces outside of Ukraine was implicit in President Putin’s speech.
The United Nations Security Council had just convened an emergency meeting Wednesday night when Putin took to Russian airwaves to announce the invasion at 5:50 am Moscow time. Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, had urged Putin to stop his tanks.
‘If indeed an operation is being prepared, I have only one thing to say from the bottom of my heart,’ said Guterres. ‘President Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine. Give peace a chance. Too many people have already died.’
Putin ignored the plea, going on TV to describe the invasion as a ‘special military occupation’ and said he wants to ‘demilitarize’ and ‘de-Nazify’, not occupy, the country. He told Ukrainian service members to ‘lay down their arms and go home,’ saying Russia could not exist with a ‘constant threat emanating from the territory of Ukraine’ and clashes between Russian and Ukrainian soldiers was ‘inevitable.’
