Vladimir Putin says Liz Truss was ‘crazy’ when she raised concerns about nuclear weapons
Liz Truss was “crazy” when she raised concerns about nuclear weapons, Vladimir Putin has claimed.
During a major speech in Moscow, the Russian president hit out at the UK’s former prime minister.
He said she must have been “a bit out of it” and he claimed to have “never said anything proactively about possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia”.
“We have only hinted in response to statements made by Western leaders,” he added.
During her address to the UN General Assembly in September, Ms Truss had labelled President Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons as “sabre-rattling”.
Speaking during a live, televised debate in Moscow on Thursday, Mr Putin also accused the West of playing a “dangerous, dirty and deadly game” in Ukraine – and he warned the era of Western domination was over.
In the discussion, entitled A Post-Hegemonic World: Justice and Security For Everyone, the Russian president sought to cast the blame for the conflict in Ukraine on Western countries alone.
Putin warns West it is playing ‘deadly game’ – live Ukraine updates
‘We didn’t do it’
“We were not the ones to organise a coup d’état in Ukraine, which resulted in our special military operations,” he said. “We are not the ones who did it.
“It’s the West that has driven us to this point,” he said. “I advocate democratic relations.”
He told the gathered audience, he would “never put up with” what the rest of the world tells him to do.
Repeatedly using the term “special military operation” to describe the war, he also warned: “He who will sow the wind, will reap the whirlwind.”
‘Under Western thumb’
Mr Putin sent his troops into Ukraine on 24 February, and has often claimed Western support for Ukraine is part of wider efforts by Washington and its allies to enforce what they call a rules-based world order – one he rejects.
“We tried to set up relations with the West and NATO, to make friends with them,” he said, “but the West imposes sanctions against those who don’t want to be under their thumb.”
As he spoke, China announced it was willing to deepen its relationship with Russia – and said any attempt to block the two countries moving forward would “never succeed”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping with Putin. Pic: AP
Mr Putin responded by saying Russia’s relations with China were at an “unprecedented level” and he called China’s President Xi Jinping a “close friend”.
“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.
The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.
The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.
“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.
“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.
“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”
Read more:
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Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.
“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.
“What a great deal!”
When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.
Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
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The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
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