Russian President Vladimir Putin stated Thursday that, “The decisive majority of Russians support the Ukraine War, and everyone is working together for our collective victory.”
He also delivered a cautionary message to the West: “They must realize that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Don't they get that?”
“The consequences now will be far more tragic,” he continued. “They think this is a cartoon.” He would later go on to compare modern countries to Hitler and Napoleon for their alleged plans to attack Russia and warned that neither invader had succeeded.
Putin's statement comes after a recent suggestion by France that NATO should send ground troops to Ukraine, which was rapidly rejected by several other countries.
He also claimed that life expectancy in Russia was rising, and had recently surpassed 73, the level it had been at before the COVID-19 outbreak. He claimed that by 2030, it would reach 78, and continue rising in the future to at least 80 years of age.