The Kremlin strongman spoke out after a day of frayed nerves, with Russia test-firing a new generation intermediate-range missile at Ukraine -- which Putin hinted was capable of unleashing a nuclear payload. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky branded the strike a major ramping up of the "scale and brutality" of the war by a "crazy neighbour", while Kyiv's main backer the United States said that Russia was to blame for escalating the conflict "at every turn".
Intermediate-range missiles typically have a reach of up to 5,500 kilometres (3,400 miles) -- enough to make good on Putin's threat of striking the West.
In a defiant address to the nation, Russia's president railed at Ukraine's allies granting permission for Kyiv to use Western-supplied weapons to strike targets on Russian territory, warning of retaliation. In recent days Ukraine has fired US and UK-supplied missiles at Russian territory for the first time, escalating already sky-high tensions in the brutal nearly three-year-long conflict.
"We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities," Putin said. He said the US-sent Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and British Storm Shadow payloads were shot down by Moscow's air defences, adding: "The goals that the enemy obviously set were not achieved".
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov did however say Moscow informed Washington of the missile's launch half an hour before it was fired through an automatic nuclear de-escalation hotline, in remarks cited in state media. He earlier said Russia was doing everything to avoid an atomic conflict, having updated its nuclear doctrine this week. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Washington saw no need to modify the United States' own nuclear posture in response.
Criticising the global response to the strike -- "final proof that Russia definitely does not want peace" -- Zelensky warned that other countries could become targets for Putin too. "It is necessary to urge Russia to a true peace, which is possible only through force," the Ukrainian leader said in his evening address. "Otherwise, there will be relentless Russian strikes, threats and destabilisation, and not only against Ukraine."
The spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, said the new missile's deployment was "another concerning and worrying development," warning the war was "going in the wrong direction". Yet a US official played down the threat, saying on condition of anonymity that Russia "likely possesses only a handful of these" experimental missiles.
Russia's envoy to London on Thursday said that meant Britain was "now directly involved" in the Ukraine war, with Andrei Kelin telling Sky News "this firing cannot happen" without UK and NATO support. But the White House's Jean-Pierre countered that it was Russia who was behind the rising tensions, pointing to the reported deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to help Moscow fight off a Ukrainian offensive in Russia's border Kursk region.
I'm not a different guy, friend. I'm the same friend, guy. Cue the "IM NOT YOUR BUDDY, GUY!" "IM NOT YOUR GUY, FRIEND!"
Lol but yeah I agree.
The US military abroad wouldn't stop till they razed Russia to the ground. I think in reality shit would obviously hit the fan. I shouldve added the context tho, that I'm assuming Putin hasn't been in touch with reality in ages.
With that being said, the contiguous United States, Mexico and Canada would be entirely fucked to defend itself against a full scale Russian and Chinese invasion/attack that would follow a nuclear EMP attack.
This is also assuming it works and we don't shoot it down. (Which I think is the correct answer, Putin facing the consequences of a failed attack fear him not the consequences of a successful one.)
We 100% have zero back up for any attack to the power grid. Doesn't matter if it's Nuclear, EMP or my uncle Dale with bolt cutters. Our power grid is like take a Xanax to stop the panic attack fragile. Whats honestly more terrifying than knowing how fragile it is, is knowing we also aren't doing a single thing to fix it, fail safe it or have a back up plan. We're just kinda all sitting around waiting for an inevitable mass power outage.
It's known that a nuclear device detonated, 250-300 miles above sea level for altitude and in the middle of the continent for longitude/latitude, would take out the entire power grid and most every unprotected electronic from Mexico to Canada. Coast to coast. I'm not wasting the time to provide sources because you just have to google declassified CISA amd DHS reports on domestic vulnerability to attacks using a mass EMP threat.
The long short of it is, they estimate 90% of the population would die in (i think it said...) months from illness, starvation, environmental exposure and the internal conflicts that would come with all those aforementioned shit. They didn't even try to predict what would happen if it was an actual organized military attack lol.
I wish we had permanent living complexes on the moon or space stations that I could watch this happen and see how everything plays out.
US vs the world in a current day all out war, would be a ridiculously close match.
You take US, Mexico and Canada out of that world War and swap the sides so it's Russia and China vs the world and I hate to say it but it's prolly guna hand the participation trophies to only Russia and China cuz errybody else is dead.
Full disclaimer, I am fully self aware that other than the shit about the nuclear EMP fallout I pulled from memory of reading the reports, everything else is all unfounded guessing and totally delusional. ๐ป
lol no
Thanks for the easy block!
You are very welcome bro/sis ๐