Vladimir Putin has been warned “Moscow will be wiped off the map” if he were to attack NATO with nuclear weapons. Belgian defence minister Theo Francken said he isn’t concerned about Russian nuclear sabre-rattling as he championed the strength and unity of the military alliance.
He said he believes Donald Trump is committed to NATO and its cornerstone Article 5, despite previous claims by the US President that he wouldn’t defend nations not spending enough for their own defence. It comes amid continued rising tensions between the West and Russia over the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin has upped its rhetoric, including thinly-veiled nuclear threats, amid fears the US could supply Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles.
The issue has been identified as Russia’s latest red line in the war, however Mr Francken said NATO should ignore the warnings and continue to back Kyiv.
Speaking to Belgian newspaper De Morgen, he said: “Putin said the same thing when Finland and Sweden joined NATO, when we supplied tanks, missiles, F-16s… The lesson is that we mustn’t allow ourselves to be threatened.
“Initially, we only dared to fight back in Ukraine, out of fear of Putin’s reaction. That only prolonged the war, because all our supply lines run through Russia.
“You have to attack them, as we’re finally doing now. That was a red line for Putin too, but what did he do? Nothing. He knows: if I use nuclear weapons, they’ll wipe Moscow off the map. Then the end of the world will be near.”
When asked if he was concerned the Russian president could launch a non-nuclear missile at the Belgian capital, he said “no”, saying NATO would respond and “flatten Moscow”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the US supplying Tomahawks would be a “serious escalation”, adding: “Now is really a very dramatic moment in terms of the fact that tensions are escalating from all sides.”
Meanwhile, Putin’s ally and former president Dmitry Medvedev gently rattled the nuclear sabre.
He said: “It’s been said a hundred times, in a manner understandable even to the star-spangled man, that it’s impossible to distinguish a nuclear Tomahawk missile from a conventional one in flight
“The delivery of these missiles could end badly for everyone. And most of all, for Trump himself.”
There is no suggestion the US would supply Ukraine with Tomahawks equipped with nuclear warheads.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes the weapons, which have a range of more than 1,500 miles, could be a game-changer in bringing the Russian president to the negotiating table.
Mr Trump, who has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin, has so far resisted the calls.