Ukraine-Russia war live: Putin ‘ready’ for nuclear war as he pledges to send troops to Nato border

The Russian leader, speaking to Rossiya-1 television and news agency RIA, said he did not believe nuclear war was imminent but added he was nonetheless ready to launch the missiles.

It was the 11th time that Putin had issued a nuclear warning since he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, three of which have been in the past month.

It comes weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron said he would not rule out sending troops to Ukraine, though he later admitted there were no plans to do so.

Meanwhile, Putin also claimed that he would send soldiers to the border with Finland after the Scandinavian country recently joined Nato, more than doubling the alliance’s border with Russia.

“We didn’t have troops there (at the Finnish border), now they will be there,” he said. “There were no systems of destruction there, now they will appear.”

Last month, Putin signed a decree recreating the Leningrad Military District (LMD), the sole purpose of which will be to maintain a military presence on Russia’s northwestern border with Nato.

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