On February 29th, Vladimir Putin delivered his annual Address to the Nation, where he warned of the possibility of nuclear war with the West if they send troops in support of Ukraine. 

Putin, addressing parliament and “other senior elites,” said, “There has been talk about the possibility of sending NATO military contingents to Ukraine…They must realize that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization.”

The remarks came after Emmanuel Macron, the French President, said Western countries should not rule out sending forces into Ukraine. Putin responded to this by expressing his belief in American involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Additionally, CNN reported that Russia was developing a nuclear space weapon that aims to destroy orbiting satellites in an attempt to cut off Western communications. 

La Jolla High School students are aware of the conflict arising in Eastern Europe. Senior of Ukrainian descent, Violetta Pimonova, said, “if Putin starts the war, he will get response from America, so there is no point if the whole world would be destroyed.” It is not reasonable for Putin to start a nuclear war if he knows that other countries have the same if not more, military weaponry. Additionally, English teacher Susan Medrano explains how Putin has “made threats like this for about three years now, and nothing has happened.” She additionally describes how “Russia is weakened right now, because of the war effort. So I don’t think he [Putin] is in a position of strength.”