Putin Issues Another Warning Of War:

Putin issues war warning – Russia ready to turn 'everyone to radioactive ash'

 JAMES LEE

Mr Putin has warned he is willing to take "military measures" in response to "unfriendly" Western action in Ukraine, in the clearest sign yet that the Russian strongman is gearing up for war. The Russian President, speaking during a meeting at the defence ministry on Tuesday, said Russia will "react toughly to unfriendly steps" and stressed "that we have every right to do so." On Monday, Dmitry Kiselyov, a Russian media mogul, threatened to “put a gun to America's head” if NATO forces are stationed in Ukraine and warned the alliance to back off “otherwise, everyone will be turned into radioactive ash.”

America has been warning for weeks that Mr Putin appears to be readying tens of thousands of troops, tanks and artillery pieces to invade Ukraine, but Mr Putin has insisted it is merely a defence force - until now.

He spoke just days after Russia issued a list of demands to NATO, including that Ukraine never be allowed to join the alliance and that its forces be withdrawn from former Soviet states.

Continuing his fiery rhetoric, Mr Putin said “We need long-term legally binding guarantees” - even as he warned against taking America at its word.

He added: “The United States easily withdraws from all international treaties that for one reason or another become uninteresting to them.”

Stating Russia must act in kind, the President said: “What is going on, this tension that builds up in Europe, it is their fault, at each step Russia had to respond somehow.

“At each step, the situation got worse and worse, degraded and degraded. And today we are in the situation when we need to decide something.”

Russia “cannot allow” the West to put its weapons so close to Moscow, he added.

The President ended: “If this infrastructure moves, if the US and NATO missile systems appear in Ukraine, then their flight time to Moscow will be reduced to seven to 10 minutes, and with the deployment of hypersonic weapons - to five.”

The Kremlin said today that high-level talks between the US and Russia are underway over the list of demands, but said no agreements have yet been reached.

The White House has said it will consult with NATO allies over the demands, but it was willing to make no promises.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk yesterday, Professor Richard Sakwa, from Kent University, said only the US and Russia can resolve the ongoing issue, with NATO and the EU being “irrelevant” in the emerging conflict.

Some have warned of the risk of a repeat of the Cuban Missile Crisis if NATO deploys missiles in regions where they can quickly strike Moscow.