Putin’s ally issued the warning in response to rumours that Nato countries are considering placing missiles around Russian borders (Picture: AP)
Russia would need ‘little more than two minutes’ to nuke Paris, a close ally of Putin has warned in a fresh threat to Europe.
Questioned on the possibility of an attack on the city, deputy chairman of the Russian Parliament Pyotr Tolstoy told French news broadcaster BFM TV: ‘We are calculating.’
Mr Tolstoy, who previously worked as Moscow correspondent for a number of news outlets in France, issued the warning in response to rumours that Nato countries are considering placing missiles around Russian borders.
French President Emmanuel Macron recently said he may send troops to Ukraine’s frontline if Putin launches another attack on Kyiv, adding that there should be ‘no more red lines’ for France’s involvement.
He told French news outlet Le Parisien: ‘Perhaps at some point – I don’t want it, I won’t take the initiative – it will be necessary to have operations on the ground, whatever they may be, to counter the Russian forces.’
In response to Macron’s comment, Mr Tolstoy said: ‘What is important historically for Russia is to ensure the security of the country.’
Emmanuel Macron recently weighed sending troops to Ukraine if Putin launches another attack on Kyiv (Picture: Getty)
In a private meeting with opposition leaders at the Elysee Palace, Mr Macron explored the potential for France’s intervention in the conflict.
He showed maps to senior members of the French government, including hotspots where Russia could advance on Odesa or Kyiv, French outlet L’Independant has reported.
In retaliation, however, Tolstoy promised Russia would ‘kill all French soldiers’ who would be deployed in Ukraine.
‘We are going to kill all the French soldiers who are going to come to Ukrainian soil because today, during the conflict in Ukraine, there are 13,000 mercenaries, including 360 French,’ Tolstoy said.
‘One hundred and forty-seven have already been killed, so 147 citizens of France were killed in Ukraine.’
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Putin recently said his country is ‘ready’ for a nuclear confrontation in the event one of the red lines in Russia’s nuclear doctrine is crossed. It defines red lines as any threat to the Russian state, sovereignty or independence.
A fresh assessment from the Institute of the Study of the War (ISW), an American policy research group, has also warned that Russia is ramping up preparations for a large-scale conventional conflict with NATO sooner than expected.
‘Several Russian financial, economic, and military indicators suggest that Russia is preparing for a large-scale conventional conflict with NATO, not imminently but likely on a shorter timeline than what some Western analysts have initially posited,’ the ISW wrote in its report.
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