President Putin gave his traditional keynote speech in June at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), an annual event in Russia.
Of the many topics that Putin discussed, one that raised eyebrows was his mention of nuclear weapons. According to the Russian leader, he did not see a case to use nukes, a statement at odds with some of the remarks his officials have made since the beginning of the Ukraine war.
Around this time, the US had delivered Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Kyiv, giving Ukraine the ability to launch long-range missiles at Russia. The first batch of F-16 fighter jets had been delivered in a bid to replenish Ukraine’s air force, which Russia has significantly bruised.
And Macron was still flirting with the idea of sending troops into Ukraine, a move that many feared would cause NATO and Russia to directly face-off, a nightmare scenario.
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