After Putin highlights Russia’s nukes, France retorts: NATO is a nuclear alliance

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian stresses that the US, UK and France are all nuclear-armed nations and the weapons make up a core component of NATO capabilities

By AFP 25 February 2022, 3:09 am

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This photo taken from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, on February 19, 2022, shows a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile being launched from an airfield during military drills. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

PARIS — Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to understand that NATO is a nuclear alliance, the French foreign minister said Thursday, after the Kremlin chief boasted about Russia’s nuclear arsenal as he launched the attack on Ukraine.

According to NATO, the nuclear weapons held by members France, the UK and US are a core component of its overall capabilities for deterrence and defense.

Emphasizing that Russia was still one of the “biggest nuclear powers in the world,” Putin had launched the offensive on Ukraine early Thursday with a warning that a direct attack on Russia would lead to “destruction.”

“Vladimir Putin must also understand that the Atlantic Alliance is a nuclear alliance,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told the TF1 channel.

He also promised “spectacular” European sanctions which will “strike to the heart” of Russia.

Le Drian said France is also studying a series of requests for assistance from Ukraine, including military.

France’s European and Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian gives a press conference during an informal meeting of the European Ministers of Defense, in Brest, western France, on January 14, 2022. (Fred Tanneau/AFP)

“They made us a list (of military equipment), we are in the process of studying it, to try to respond as best as possible to their request as quickly as possible,” he said.

Le Drian also meanwhile launched a bitter personal attack against Putin, describing him as a “cynic and a dictator.”