RUSSIA has threatened to nuke the West if NATO peacekeepers step into war-torn Ukraine for even ONE FOOT.

The ominous threats came as President Vladimir Putin’s tightly controlled state television went into overdrive on Wednesday, warning NATO against sending any kind of peacekeeping force.

The terrifying increase in rhetoric was sparked by a slew of claims from propaganda mouthpieces alleging that Poland will seek a NATO mandate to send peacekeepers to Ukraine at an extraordinary summit on Thursday.

Pro-Kremlin television also made the baseless claim that Warsaw might try to reclaim Ukrainian territory that was formerly part of Poland, such as the city of Lviv.

Vyacheslav Nikonov, a pro-Kremlin host on state-owned Channel 1, claimed that Russian truck drivers stranded at the border had spotted “an accumulation of American and Polish troops.” “..

In a chilling statement, he said, “As for me, Poland strives not just to fulfil a peacekeeping mission, but to stake out the territories that they consider historically theirs.””

On the channel, military expert Col. Yury Knutov repeated the same line, claiming that “if there are any sane people left in NATO, they will not approve [a peacekeeping] operation [in Ukraine].”

“Why? Because a decision by NATO as a whole would amount to a de facto declaration of war on Russia.

“Whether we like it or not, we will have to use tactical nuclear weapons in the theatre of operations to win this war.”

He claimed that this would necessitate the “use of powerful strategic nuclear weapons,” which he claimed would result in “universal nuclear war.”

While Olga Skabeyeva, host of state-owned Rossiya 1’s 60 Minutes, stated that NATO’s incursion into Ukraine “is not worth explaining.”

“This is known as World War Three,” she added.

Tensions soared after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declared that Russia “can never win a nuclear war” and that Moscow must end its “dangerous, irresponsible nuclear rhetoric.”

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday ahead of today’s extraordinary NATO summit, Mr Stoltenberg pledged to strengthen NATO’s presence in Poland in the aftermath of the horror unfolding in Ukraine.

“I expect leaders to agree to strengthen NATO’s posture in all domains, with significant increases in the eastern part of the alliance on land, air, and sea,” he said.

NATO leaders are expected to agree on the deployment of four new battle groups on the alliance’s eastern flank, which will be located in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia.

The number of multinational groups along NATO’s eastern flank will rise to eight as a result.

The increased troop strength complements existing forces in Poland and the Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, where thousands of British soldiers are currently stationed.

President Joe Biden has previously warned of the possibility of “World War Three” if Western countries engage in direct combat with Russia.

In the midst of rising tensions, Col-General Vladimir Shamanov, a decorated Russian veteran also known as The Butcher of Chechnya, told Channel 1 that Putin must secure Ukraine’s and Poland’s borders.

“The time has come for our leadership to say very clearly – these are the borders,” he said, claiming Ukraine as Russia’s.

“And don’t you Poles dare to poke even 10 metres in here.” You’ll be hit with the full force of our Kalibr [cruise missiles] right away.”

He said the Poles would be defeated “completely” if they attempted to interfere with Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.

While Putin’s crackpot spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that nuclear weapons would only be used in the event of a “existential threat,”

He did, however, warn that sending Western peacekeepers to Ukraine would be “very rash and extremely dangerous.”

“Any possible contact between our military personnel and NATO military personnel could result in quite understandable consequences that would be difficult to correct,” he said.

HEAVY LOSSES

According to Reuters, a US defence official said on Wednesday that Russia’s combat power in Ukraine has fallen below 90% of pre-invasion levels for the first time since the war began.

According to the estimates, Russia will suffer significant losses.

Russian losses are estimated to be 15,600 men.

While the UN reports 953 civilian deaths and 1,557 injuries among Ukrainians, the true figure is expected to be much higher.

Millions of people have fled their homes since the invasion, which is now in its 28th day.

Viewers are told that Western weapons supplied to Kyiv end up in the hands of “terrorists, Nazis, and criminals.”