According to Reuters, Russian President Vladimir Putin claims that a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO would bring the world one step closer to World War Three.

Putin made the remarks as he clinched a resounding victory with 87.8% of the vote in the Russian presidential election.

Due to restriction and the detention of political opponents, the US, Germany, the UK, and other countries have declared that the election was not free nor fair.

During his post-election briefing, Putin said, “It is clear to everyone that this will be one step away from a full-scale World War Three. I think hardly anyone is interested in this.”

Prior to this, French President Emmanuel Macron said he could not completely rule out the possibility of sending ground forces into Ukraine.

Putin responded to inquiries concerning Macron’s remarks as well as the dangers and potential for conflict between Russia and NATO by saying “Everything is possible in the modern world.”

Putin asserted that NATO servicemen had already occupied some parts of Ukraine.

Putin had declared earlier that Russia was prepared to fight a nuclear war. According to him, there would be a major escalation of the conflict if the US dispatched troops to Ukraine.

President Macron of France responded by saying that Putin had no right to threaten given that his nation is armed with nuclear weapons.

The president of France claims that he hasn’t spoken to Putin in a number of months. These discussions took place “when necessary.”

In reaction to Putin’s remarks, the US stated that it did not believe Russia had any plans to deploy nuclear weapons against Ukraine.