We have them too....

Putin threatens NATO with nuclear strike if it sends troops to Ukraine

Russian president delivers ominous warning to the West about “destruction of civilization.”

BY DENIS LEVEN

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.

In his speech, Putin said that Russian forces have taken the initiative on the battlefield and are steadily advancing. Earlier this month, the Kremlin's troops captured the eastern town of Avdiivka after a long and bloody battle.

"[We] will do everything to finish [the war], to eradicate Nazism, to solve all the tasks of the special military operation, to protect the sovereignty and security of our citizens," he said, returning to some of the well-worn slogans which have been guiding his military ambitions in Ukraine.

Putin added that the invasion is backed by the "absolute majority" of Russian citizens and said the support was best evidenced by people working triple shifts to help provide ammo and aid to Moscow's forces.

Putin also rejected recent suggestions from Washington D.C. that Russia was planning to put nuclear weapons in space. But he did say that Russian "scientists and gunsmiths" are working on a new set of "advanced weapon systems."