Ukraine war: Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threat to west ‘absolutely clear’, says Sergei Markov

Vladimir Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons against the west is “absolutely clear”, Sergei Markov, an ex-advisor of the Russian president, has suggested.

Mr Putin warned he would be prepared to use weapons of mass destruction to “protect” his country in an address to the nation on Wednesday.

He also declared “partial mobilisation” in his speech.

“What Putin shows is that he will be ready to use nuclear weapons, against western countries, including nuclear weapons against Great Britain,” Mr Markov said on BBC’s Today programme.

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