Troop deployment in ukraine: Putin warns West of nuclear war risk

President Vladimir Putin warned yesterday of a "real" risk of nuclear war if the West escalates the conflict in Ukraine, offering a defiant and emboldened stance in his annual speech to Russians.

Speaking in Moscow, Putin said his soldiers were advancing in Ukraine and warned the West of "tragic consequences" for any country that dared to send troops to Kyiv.

"They have announced the possibility of sending Western military contingents to Ukraine... The consequences for possible interventionists will be much more tragic," he said in his address to the nation.

"They should eventually realise that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. Everything that the West comes up with creates the real threat of a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons, and thus the destruction of civilisation," said Putin.

His comments appeared to be a response to French President Emmanuel Macron's refusal earlier this week to rule out sending troops to Ukraine -- a stance that drew swift rejection from other leaders in Europe.

Nevertheless, the debate has struck a nerve in Moscow, which has long seen its conflict with Ukraine as part of a wider "hybrid war" being waged against it by Nato.

Western leaders have repeatedly criticised Putin for what they see as his reckless use of nuclear rhetoric.

After pulling Russia out of arms control treaties with the United States and previously warning he was "not bluffing" when he said he was ready to use nuclear weapons, Putin had appeared in recent months to dial down his nuclear threats.

But the fresh warning comes with the Kremlin buoyed by recent gains on the battlefield in Ukraine, but also an economy that has largely defied sanctions and ahead of an election certain to extend Putin's term in the Kremlin until 2030.

Elsewhere, French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday said that all his comments on the war between Ukraine and Russia were carefully thought out.

Macron on Monday said that "everything that is necessary" must be done to ensure Russia's defeat after its invasion of Ukraine, alarming several European allies, including Germany.

"These are sufficiently serious issues; every one of the words that I say on this issue is weighed, thought through and measured," Macron told reporters.

Macron declined to comment further.

The French president had said after a conference of European leaders that while there was "no consensus" on the sending of Western ground troops to Ukraine, "nothing should be excluded."

Meanwhile, The European Parliament yesterday said Putin bore the "criminal and political responsibility" for opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death and should be held to account.

Navalny, one of Putin's fiercest critics, died in prison on February 16 in unclear circumstances but EU leaders have blamed the Russian president.

"The Russian government and Vladimir Putin personally bear criminal and political responsibility for the death of their most prominent opponent, Alexei Navalny," the parliament said in a resolution passed with 506 votes in the 705-seat assembly.

Putin "should be held accountable", it said.

Only nine lawmakers voted against the resolution.

The lawmakers also called for an "independent and transparent international investigation" into the circumstances of Navalny's death.

In addition, the parliament asked the EU's 27 members states to "intensify" support for Russian political prisoners and continue backing the democratic opposition in Russia.

Navalny's funeral will be held on Friday in a Moscow church.

His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, told the European Parliament on Wednesday that she feared the event could be marred by disruption and arrests.