'Would never do' isn't a phrase that applies to Vladimir Putin, the BBC's Steve Rosenberg believes.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has just put his country's nuclear forces on "special" alert
"To anyone who would consider interfering from the outside - if you do, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history." In a 2018 documentary, President Putin commented that "…if someone decides to annihilate Russia, we have the legal right to respond. Yes, it will be a catastrophe for humanity and for the world. But I'm a citizen of Russia and its head of state. Why do we need a world without Russia in it?"
"One option for him is to cut gas supplies to Europe, hoping that will make the Europeans climb down. Another option is to explode a nuclear weapon somewhere over the North Sea between Britain and Denmark and see what happens."
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ukraine invasion: how Vladimir Putin built his career on waging warThe Russian president’s career is steeped in blood. But the invasion of Ukraine is more ambitious, and risky, than anything the Russian president has attempted before
Read more »
Vladimir Putin puts Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces on high alertOrder given as Zelenskiy says Urkaine delegation would meet Russian officials at Belarus border
Read more »
With his war going slowly, Vladimir Putin raises the nuclear stakesThe Russian president’s aim is probably to deter the West from offering further support to Ukraine. In recent days that support has been increasing
Read more »
Alexander Gabuev writes from Moscow on why Vladimir Putin and his entourage want war“What actually drives the Kremlin are the tough ideas and interests of a small group of longtime lieutenants to President Vladimir Putin,” writes Alexander Gabuev, chair of the Russia in the Asia-Pacific Programme at the Carnegie Moscow Centre
Read more »
Vladimir Putin: The security men, officials, and friends who are in Russian president's inner circleHis close associates include the Siloviki - the security men around Putin, most of whom rose up through the ranks of the KGB as he did and have a hawkish, Cold War mindset.
Read more »