VLADIMIR Putin has warned he will use nuclear weapons against the West if anyone interferes in Ukraine.
The warning comes as the Russian leader said the response to counterstrikes will be “lightning fast.”
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He said: “If someone intends to interfere in what is going on from the outside they must know that constitutes an unacceptable strategic threat to Russia.
“They must know that our response to counterstrikes will be lightning fast. Fast.
“We have all the weapons we need for this. No one else can brag about these weapons, and we won’t brag about them.
“But we will use them.”
It comes after Russia threatened to strike military targets in the UK after Britain supplied weapons to Ukraine.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the hits could be authorised against Nato member states.
She said: “Do we understand correctly that for the sake of disrupting the logistics of military supplies, Russia can strike military targets on the territory of those Nato countries that supply arms to the Kyiv regime?”
“After all, this directly leads to deaths and bloodshed on Ukrainian territory. As far as I understand, Britain is one of those countries.”
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It comes as pro-Putin TV anchor Vladimir Solovyov threatened to blow “boorish Britain” using the deadly 16,000mph Satan 2 nuke, over the UK’s support for Ukraine.
“As it turned out, one Sarmat means minus one Great Britain,” he said on the Kremlin-controlled state TV channel.
Russia successfully launched the missile earlier this month with Putin warning the test was “food for thought for those who try to threaten Russia,”
A video showed the killer missile being launched from an underground silo, triggering an enormous fireball.
It travelled almost the entire length of Russia – almost 3,600 miles – in around 15 minutes and landed at Kura Missile Test Range on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign minister warned a nuclear world war is now a “real” danger as British and Nato weapons are already “legitimate” targets in Ukraine.
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In a chilling message, Sergei Lavrov said the risk of World War 3 is now “considerable” – saying the West is essentially fighting a proxy war against Moscow via its support for Kyiv.
Lavrov accused Nato forces of “pouring oil on the fire” by “pumping weapons into Ukraine”.
In an interview with Russian news agencies, he said: “This is our key position on which we base everything.
“The risks now are considerable.
“I would not want to elevate those risks artificially. Many would like that. The danger is serious, real, And we must not underestimate it.”
And the war hawk said weapons shipments from Britain and other Nato countries “would be a legitimate target” – reiterating what Russian commanders have said previously since the invasion at the end of February.
Lavrov accused the West of deliberately attempting to “wear down the Russian army” and exhaust their ability to make war – something the minister bullishly said was an “illusion”.
But he claimed Russia wanted to prevent a nuclear war at all costs.
Western countries have been supplying aid, weapons and equipment to Ukraine – stopping short of sending troops or imposing a no-fly zone.
Britain has been supplying anti-tank weapons, anti-air missiles and plans to send Stormer armoured vehicles to help them fight against Russia.
And Lavrov stoked the fires once again as he outright accused the West of waging a hidden conflict against Russia.
He said: “Nato, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war.”
The foreign minister also criticised Kyiv’s approach to peace talks with Moscow.
He said: “Goodwill has its limits. But if it isn’t reciprocal, that doesn’t help the negotiation process.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba described Lavrov’s comments as a sign of Russia’s weakness.
In a statement on Twitter, Kuleba said Russia had lost its “last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine”.
He added: “This only means Moscow senses defeat.”
Britain also downplayed the Russian warnings.
Armed Services Minister James Heappey told the BBC: “Lavrov’s trademark over the course of 15 years or so that he has been the Russian foreign secretary has been that sort of bravado.
“I don’t think that right now there is an imminent threat of escalation.”
Heappey also said it was “completely legitimate” for Ukraine to use British weapons in attacks on Russian infrastructure.
RUSSIAN THREAT
He added that the UK would restart training inside Ukraine if the conflict became “frozen” in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
In response, Russia’s defence ministry said: “We would like to underline that London’s direct provocation of the Kyiv regime into such actions if such actions are carried out, will immediately lead to our proportional response.
“As we have warned, the Russian Armed Forces are in round-the-clock readiness to launch retaliatory strikes with high-precision long-range weapons at decision-making centers in Kyiv.”
Meanwhile, Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the defence select committee, told the Times that Heappey’s remarks had the “potential to invite retaliatory attacks into Poland” adding that the West was becoming “increasingly involved in a proxy war.”
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has warned that Russia’s threat of a “proportional response” against Britain for backing Ukrainian strikes behind Russian lines is “unlawful.”
He said Vladimir Putin’s regime is only adding to its “pariah status” by threatening other countries, including by shutting off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria.
Mr Raab, who is also Justice Secretary, told Sky News: “The Russian statement is unlawful and what we’re doing is lawful, we’re entitled, all states are entitled to provide military support to any state exercising the right of lawful defence against an aggressive invasion.
“Frankly if Russia starts threatening other countries it only adds further to their pariah status and will only further the solidarity and consensus in the international community that they must be stopped.”
It comes as earlier today a Russian ammunition depot in the Belgorod region exploded in a suspected strike by Ukraine.
Two more attacks were also suspected with reports of explosions in the regions of the Voronezh and Kursk.
Ukraine has not confirmed the strikes – but video appears to show anti-air missile being fired in the area.
On Monday the US approved the potential sale of $165 million worth of ammunition to Ukraine.
The Pentagon said the package could include ammunition for howitzers, tanks and grenade launchers.
Moscow’s ambassador to Washington told the US to halt shipments – warning that Western weapons were fuelling the conflict.
Moscow has stepped up its blame on the UK, claiming a secret “Psyops” unit operating in Ukraine has carried out war atrocities such as raping women and bombing children.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left thousands dead or injured, reduced towns and cities to rubble, and forced more than five million people to flee.
Russia has yet to capture any of Ukraine’s biggest cities after its forces pulled back from the outskirts of the capital of Kyiv in the face of resistance last month.
Putin’s new war aims to focus mainly on the east – and more troops have been sent there for an assault on two provinces.
While focusing on the east and south, Russia has also been targeting other parts of Ukraine with missiles and airstrikes.
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