Russian President Vladimir Putin saw President Joe Biden’s “unwavering and unflagging” support of Ukraine and raised him an escalation in nuclear tension, backing away from a nonproliferation treaty and reigniting World War III panic.

One day after Biden made his surprise trip to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, promising another $500 million in support, and a few days before the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion, Putin declared his nation would be suspending its participation in the New START Treaty agreed to in 2010.

The announcement came during the Russian president’s state of the nation address where he attempted to seize moral superiority by claiming, “We aren’t fighting the Ukrainian people. The Ukrainian people have become hostages of the Kyiv regime and its Western masters, which have effectively occupied the country.”

START, which had been extended in 2021 through February 4, 2026 was the last remaining nuclear arms deal Russia had with the U.S. that not only capped the number of nuclear weapons either nation could possess, but also established guidelines for each nation to be able to inspect the nuclear facilities of the other.

During the same speech, Putin also seemed to behave as a voice of reason by taking aim at culture war issues, suggesting that was the only battlefield his opponents were capable of fighting on. One translation read in part, “See what they do with their own peoples — the destruction of the family, cultural and national identity, perversion, mockery of children, and pedophilia are declared the norm. The norm of their life. And priests are forced to bless same-sex marriages.”

Putin gave a speech today, and dedicated part of it to the culture war, including the destruction of culture, history, churches and religious institutions, nuclear families, the normalization of pedophilia, and the transing of children. Do you agree with his remarks? pic.twitter.com/DpDEYkRo0M

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) February 21, 2023

Those claims were not well received as NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg – while holding a joint press conference with the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba – accused Putin of only further stoking conflict.

“It is President Putin who started this imperial war of conquest…As Putin made clear today, he’s preparing for more war,” Stoltenberg said. “Putin must not win…It would be dangerous for our own security and the whole world.”

Reacting to the game of nuclear chicken being played out on a global stage, the possibility of World War III was once again trending with The Federalist CEO Sean Davis contending, “The U.S. is sleepwalking into a nuclear World War III, egged on by deranged neocon interventionists from the comforts of their living rooms, forever insulated from the ravages of war and rarely exposed to those who bear its scars.”

The U.S. is sleepwalking into a nuclear World War III, egged on by deranged neocon interventionists from the comforts of their living rooms, forever insulated from the ravages of war and rarely exposed to those who bear its scars. https://t.co/PnuUeBsSBv

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) February 21, 2023

Former President Donald Trump also reacted to the current state of foreign relations and wrote on Truth Social, “If you watch and understand the moves being made by Biden on Ukraine, he is systematically, but perhaps unknowingly, pushing us into what could be WORLD WAR III. How crazy is that?”

Others found fault in Biden as well with many sarcastically offering their gratitude.

Thanks Biden ☹️

— WinRepublicans Ellen (@Ellen71692289) February 21, 2023

Thanks Brandon!

— Jim Mammina (@jmammina) February 21, 2023

Great work Biden.

— Claree ZimmsUSA (@CMaguireart) February 21, 2023

When your enemy knows you’re weak, of course they’ll take full advantage. Never would’ve happened under President Trump.

— America is lost-a great nation destroyed from w/in (@mcpinnorthnj) February 21, 2023

At the time of this posting, the administration had not offered an official response to Putin’s suspension of the treaty, and Biden remained scheduled to make an address that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan argued was not “some kind of head to head” with the Russian leader’s.

“This is not a rhetorical contest with anyone else,” he argued.

Elections have consequences

— D. B. Cooper ‍☠️ (@srod409) February 21, 2023

Do we have to wait until nukes fly to ‘call it’ World War III?

— Kat – MAGA – South Florida (@wellyworldfl) February 21, 2023

We are already in World War III, and so far, it has not gone nuclear. We need to defeat Russia and then remove its nuclear weapons capabilities, once and for all.

— Steafan Dubhuidhe (comrade/comrades) (@AnarchoTerran) February 21, 2023

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Kevin Haggerty

Staff Writer

Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.

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