European Union: ‘Russian Army Will Be Annihilated’ If They Use Nuclear Weapons

A rocket launches from missile system as part of a ground-based intercontinental ballistic missile test launched from the Plesetsk facility in northwestern Russia on Dec. 9, 2020. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP

A top European Union official warned Russia’s military will be “annihilated” by Western forces if Russian President Vladimir Putin uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

“Any nuclear attack against Ukraine will create an answer—not a nuclear answer, but such a powerful answer from the military side that the Russian Army will be annihilated,” European Union High Representative Josep Borrell stated Thursday. “This is a serious moment in the history, and we have to show our unity, our strength, and our determination. Complete determination.”

During a speech last month, Putin said that he is “not bluffing” and said he would defend Russia’s “territorial integrity of our motherland” by “all the means at our disposal” in what some interpreted as a nuclear warning. He did not specifically mention nuclear weapons, although other top Russian officials have said such weapons could be utilized.

Despite the suggested threats, U.S. officials last week said there is no clear evidence that the Kremlin will launch a nuclear weapon after U.S. President Joe Biden has said the world faces the biggest risk of nuclear Armageddon since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

“Well, [Putin] cannot afford bluffing. And it has to be clear that the people supporting Ukraine, the European Union and the Member States, and the United States and NATO are not bluffing either,” Borrell said.

‘We Do Not Want a World War’

His comments came just hours after more pacifying comments from French President Emmanuel Macron, who wrote on Twitter that “we do not want a World War.”

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) before a meeting at the Chancellery on January 19, 2020, in Berlin, Germany. Emmanuele Contini/Getty Images

France’s nuclear “doctrine rests on the fundamental interests of the nation,” Macron also told French news outlets on Thursday. “They are defined clearly and wouldn’t be directly affected at all if, for example, there was a ballistic nuclear attack in Ukraine, in the region.”

“Today, first of all, Vladimir Putin must stop this war, respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and come back to the table for talks,” Macron further said. “I tell you that at some point … it will be necessary [for Kyiv to negotiate with Russia]. That’s why I have always refused maximalist positions.”

But Macron said that France would supply air-defense systems to Ukraine’s military following a series of airstrikes on the Eastern European county earlier this week that came in response to a bridge bombing in Crimea.

“We’re going to deliver … radars, systems, and missiles to protect them from these attacks,” Macron told local media, adding that another six Caesar mobile artillery units could also be sent to Ukraine.

Adding to the nuclear tensions, Russian Security Council official Alexander Venediktov said that if Ukraine is admitted to NATO, the conflict in the country would escalate into World War III.

On Sept. 30, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a surprise attempt to fast-track Ukraine’s application to join NATO. Full NATO membership for Ukraine is far off because all the alliance’s 30 members, including Turkey, would have to give their consent.

“Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to World War Three,” Venediktov told TASS. “The suicidal nature of such a step is understood by NATO members themselves,” he said.

Reuters contributed to this report.