Russian President Vladimir Putin in his election victory speech said Russia would not be “intimidated” as he became one of the longest-serving Russian leaders in more than 200 years. President Vladimir Putin on Monday said that a direct conflict between Russia and the US-led NATO military alliance would mean the planet was one step away from World War 3. He, however, said that no one wanted such a scenario.
Putin on Sunday won another term in office after garnering 87.8% of the votes in the national election, the highest-ever result in Russia’s post-Soviet history.
“I want to thank all of you and all citizens of the country for your support and this trust. No matter who or how much they want to intimidate us, no matter who or how much they want to suppress us, our will, our consciousness — no one has ever succeeded in anything like this in history. It has not worked now and will not work in the future. Never,” Putin said early Monday morning, according to a report by the news agency AFP.
After winning the biggest-ever landslide in Russian history, Putin said: “It is clear to everyone, that this will be one step away from a full-scale World War Three. I think hardly anyone is interested in this.”
Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron said France must ensure Russia does not win the war and last month said he could not rule out the deployment of ground troops in Ukraine in the future. When asked about Macron’s remarks and the risks and possibility of a conflict between Russia and NATO, Putin quipped: “Everything is possible in the modern world.”.
The Ukraine war has triggered the deepest crisis in Moscow’s relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Putin has often warned of the risks of nuclear war but says he has never felt the need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the Russian President said Moscow was ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty or independence was threatened. Putin has repeatedly talked about his readiness to use nuclear weapons since launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
The most recent such threat came in his state-of-the-nation address last month when he warned the West that deepening its involvement in the fighting in Ukraine would risk a nuclear war.
As early as Friday, the first day of voting in the election, EU chief Charles Michel had sarcastically congratulated Putin on his “landslide victory”.
If he completes another full Kremlin term, Putin will have stayed in power longer than any Russian leader since Catherine the Great in the 18th century.
