Putin issues a “World War 3” warning after Russia’s historic election triumph

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, forewarned the West on Monday that the world was only one step away from a third world war if there was a direct battle between his nation and the US-led NATO military alliance. However, he said, very few people want such a situation.

The conflict in Ukraine has led to the most severe crisis in Moscow’s ties with the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Although Putin claims he has never felt the need to deploy nuclear weapons in Ukraine, he has often warned of the dangers of nuclear war.

Following his statement last month that he could not rule out the possibility of foot soldiers being stationed in Ukraine in the future, several Western nations distanced themselves from the idea, while others, particularly those in Eastern Europe, voiced support.

When Reuters questioned Putin about the comments made by Macron, as well as the potential dangers and outcomes of a battle between Russia and NATO, he joked that “everything is possible in the modern world.”

“Everyone can see that we are only a few steps away from a full-scale World War Three. Putin told reporters after winning the largest landslide in post-Soviet Russian history, “I think hardly anyone is interested in this.”

Putin clarified, however, that NATO forces were already in Ukraine and that Russia had heard both French and English being used in combat.

“There is nothing good in this, first of all for them, because they are dying there and in large numbers,” he said.

ZONE OF BUFFER

Ukraine intensified its assaults on Russia ahead of the March 15–17 Russian presidential election, blasting border areas and even attempting to breach Russia’s borders via proxies.

Putin said that if the assaults persisted, Russia would establish a buffer zone out of more Ukrainian land to safeguard Russian territory when asked whether he thought it was necessary to invade the Kharkiv area of Ukraine.

“I do not exclude that, bearing in mind the tragic events taking place today, we will be forced at some point, when we deem it appropriate, to create a certain’sanitary zone’ in the territories today under the Kyiv regime,” Putin said.

He stated that such a zone could need to be large enough to prevent foreign-made weapons from entering Russian territory, but he refused to provide any more information.

After eight years of fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian Ukrainians and Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine, Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022, sparking a massive European war.

Putin expressed his desire that Macron will contribute to bringing about peace rather than further escalate the conflict in Ukraine, saying, “It appears that France could play a role.” Nothing is lost just yet.

“I’ll say it again, as I have been repeating it repeatedly. Not merely because the adversary is low on ammunition, we support peace negotiations,” Putin said.

“If they really, seriously, want to build peaceful, good-neighbourly relations between the two states in the long term, and not simply take a break for rearmament for 1.5–2 years.”

US PARTY DEMOCRACY

Putin rejected criticism from the US and the West over the election, claiming that US elections were not democratic and criticizing the use of state force against Donald Trump. The White House said that the election was not free and fair.

Putin remarked, “The whole world is laughing at what is happening there,” in reference to the United States. “It is just a catastrophe – it is not democracy – what on earth is it?”

Putin claimed to have “passed away” in response to a question about the whereabouts of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died on February 16 in an Arctic Russian jail under mysterious circumstances. This was Putin’s first public use of Navalny’s name.

Putin said that he had decided to switch to Navalny a few days before his death.

Shortly before Navalny passed away, a prisoner swap agreement was reached, according to a February Reuters story.

Regarding his endorsement of the prisoner exchange, Putin said, “I said: ‘I am agreed.'” “I had one condition: we exchanged him, but he never returned.”

Yulia, the widow of Navalny, has charged Putin with her husband’s murder.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, told reporters that it was untrue.