Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that the world is facing “perhaps the most dangerous” decade since the end of World War II.
In a wide-ranging speech on Thursday, he sought to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a move that has isolated his country internationally.
Mr Putin also accused the West of nuclear blackmail against Russia to force allies to turn away from Moscow.
The West has condemned recent veiled nuclear threats by the Kremlin.
Earlier this week, the NATO military alliance condemned Russia’s unsubstantiated claims that Ukraine could use a “dirty bomb” — conventional explosives laced with radioactive material.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said alliance members “reject the accusation” and “Russia should not use it as a pretext for escalation”.
President Putin was speaking at the annual Valdai Forum after recent military defeats in Ukraine and a campaign to mobilize nearly 300,000 Russians for the war effort.
A day before his address in Moscow, he oversaw routine nuclear drills that included a possible nuclear strike in retaliation for a major nuclear strike by an enemy. “We have never said anything about Russia’s possible use of nuclear weapons. We have only responded to comments made by Western leaders,” he told his audience.
President Putin singled out former British Prime Minister Liz Truss for suggesting on the campaign trail in August that she would be ready to push the nuclear button if the situation called for it. He said he was surprised Britain’s allies didn’t object: “What were we supposed to do? Shut up? Pretend we didn’t hear it?”
However, he himself has repeatedly warned that Russia will use “all available means” to protect itself, which is widely seen as a clear nuclear threat.
US President Joe Biden accused the Russian leader of engaging in “extremely dangerous” rhetoric about the possible use of nuclear weapons.
“Why is he talking about the ability to use tactical nuclear weapons?” Mr. Biden asked during an interview with American media. “Why does he talk about it if he has no intention?”
He repeated his recent attacks on the West, and what he called the “dangerous, bloody and hideous game” of denying the sovereignty and individuality of countries. He asserted that the West’s “undivided dominance” over world affairs was now ending.
“We are at a historic juncture. Ahead is perhaps the most dangerous, unpredictable, and momentous decade since the end of World War II.”
West was no longer able to be in charge – but was “desperately trying” to do so. He said that “the future world order is being formed before our eyes” and accused the West, led by the United States, of trying to destroy Russia. No evidence was provided to back up their claims.
