Widening War: Putin Labels West as Russia's ‘Real Enemy,' Threatens to ‘Deal With’ Both U.S. and NATO

Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to escalate his anti-West rhetoric, issuing direct threats to the United States and its allies amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The threats were made during Putin's recent visit to a military hospital in Moscow, where he fielded questions from recovering soldiers, as reported by the President of Russia website.

The threats materialized in response to a question from Alexander Dublyanin, who inquired about Western countries aiding what Putin referred to as "our enemy." Putin clarified his stance, stating, "The point is not that [the West is] helping our enemy. They are our enemy."

Putin added, “Ukraine itself is not our enemy whereas those who want to destroy Russian statehood and to achieve, as they say, a strategic defeat of Russia on the battlefield, are mainly in the West.”

According to Putin, Ukraine deploys 5,000 to 6,000 shells daily, while the U.S., the primary donor to the embattled country, produces 14,000 shells per month, with plans to increase production in 2024.

Putin asserted, "Though it has been [the West's] goal to deal with Russia from time immemorial, we will deal with them faster, it seems."

During his visit to the military hospital, Putin declared his intention to intensify strikes against Ukraine using “high-precision weapons.”

Subsequently, Russia reportedly recently launched 99 missiles, resulting in casualties and damage in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have intercepted 72 of the missiles, as reported by Knewz.com.

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While Putin has remained vague about his specific retaliatory plans against NATO and the U.S., some of his associates have been more explicit.

Dmitry Medvedev, a former president, suggested the potential use of nuclear weapons if a NATO-led offensive resulted in territorial losses. Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov has repeatedly advocated for nuclear weapons use in Ukraine, expressing certainty that the conflict and tensions with the West would lead to nuclear fallout, as Front Page Detectives previously reported.