In key remarks on Wednesday night, the Russian president said his government was considering changing the rules and preconditions around which Russia would use its nuclear weapons in what could be construed as a threat to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine.

Putin said that “aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear-weapon state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear-weapon state, should be regarded as a joint attack on the Russian Federation.”

He added: “We will consider such a possibility as soon as we receive reliable information about a massive launch of aerospace attack means and their crossing of our state border, meaning strategic or tactical aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, hypersonic missiles, and other aircraft.”

Putin’s latest bout of saber rattling comes as pressure mounts on Western nations to allow Kyiv to use long-range Western missiles against Russia.

Responding to Putin’s latest threat on X, Andriy Yermak, Ukraine’s chief of staff, wrote: “Russia no longer has any instruments to intimidate the world apart from nuclear blackmail. These instruments will not work.”