Putin ally warns West of nuclear war over Ukraine

A satellite image shows ammunition bunkers on fire after the explosion, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Toropets, Tver region, Russia, September 18, 2024. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) -A close ally of President Vladimir Putin warned Western governments on Thursday that a nuclear war would ensue if they gave the green light for Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia.

Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the lower house of parliament and a member of Putin's Security Council, was responding to a vote in the European Parliament urging EU countries to give such approval to Kyiv.