Sending troops to Ukraine would risk provoking nuclear war, Putin tells Nato

Vladimir Putin: ‘They think this is some kind of game. They are blinded by their own superiority complex.’ Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

Vladimir Putin has told Nato countries that they risk provoking a nuclear war if they send troops to fight in Ukraine, in an annual state of the nation speech ramping up his threats against Europe and the US.

In a reference to Emmanuel Macron’s comments earlier this week in which he opened the door to sending European ground troops to Ukraine, the Russian president said it would lead to “tragic” consequences for the nations who decided to do that.