US, EU, and NATO ‘not bluffing either,’ EU foreign affairs chief says, pushing back on Putin’s nuclear threats.
By World Israel News Staff
The European Union’s foreign affairs chief warned Russia that any use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine would result in the complete destruction of the Russian army.
EU High Representative Josep Borrell spoke at a diplomatic academy in Brussels Thursday morning, pushing back on recent comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin hinting at the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons in the ongoing war with Ukraine.
“When the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people,” Putin said in a September 21st address, adding “This is not a bluff.”
The speech is one of several in which Putin has been accused of threatening to use Russia’s nuclear arsenal against Ukraine.
On September 30th, Putin alluded to nuclear warfare in a Kremlin speech vowing to defend four east Ukrainian provinces being annexed by Moscow.
The Russian president said his country would use “all the forces and resources” it has to defend its new territories, referencing the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as “a precedent.”
On Thursday, Borrell responded to Putin’s recent comments, vowing the West would destroy Russia’s military if nuclear weapons are used against Ukraine.
“There is the nuclear threat and Putin is saying he is not bluffing. Well, he cannot afford bluffing. And it has to be clear that the people supporting Ukraine and the European Union and the Member States, and the United Stated and NATO are not bluffing neither.”
“And any nuclear attack against Ukraine will create an answer, not a nuclear answer but such a powerful answer from the military side that the Russian Army will be annihilated, and Putin should not be bluffing.”
“This is a serious moment in the history, and we have to show our unity, and our strength and our determination. Complete determination.”