As the war in Ukraine continues into its third month Russian President Vladimir Putin has been turning his attention toward the West.
Putin claimed that the West was planning to invade Russia in a speech he gave at the annual Victory Day military parade in Moscow Monday.
In his address, he tried to justify their military action in Ukraine by saying that their forces are “fighting for the Motherland.”
He has previously made threats to any country that interfered with the invasion of Ukraine stating that they would face “consequences greater than any you have faced in history.”
Here is a timeline of Putin’s threats over the last few months.
March 7 - list of “unfriendly countries” released
The Russian government wrote a list of countries that have taken “unfriendly actions” against the nation - and it included Ireland.
Now all business deals undertaken with individuals from these countries have to be approached by a government commission.
According to a government statement, the list includes Albania, Andorra, Australia, Great Britain, including Jersey, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, European Union member states, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Micronesia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, San Marino, North Macedonia, Singapore, United States, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland and Japan.
April 14 - Russia threatens Sweden and Finland
Russia declared that if Sweden and Finland decided to join NATO they would be forced to strengthen their defences in the form of nuclear weapons.
This came after the two nations began to consider NATO membership. This clearly caused a degree of upset in Moscow as one of Putin’s pals Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said that they would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in the Kaliningrad exclave between Lithuania and Bulgaria.
Medvedev said this would help Sweden and Finland to see sense.
April 27 - Russia stops gas exports to ‘unfriendly countries’
Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom stops exporting gas to Poland and Bulgaria after they refuse to pay in roubles.
This comes after Putin announced that all ‘unfriendly’ countries are to pay for gas in the currency.
The threat was made in an attempt to boost the value of the rouble that had fallen after Western sanctions.
Europe relies heavily on Russian fossil fuels with the country meeting 40 per cent of all gas needs.
May 1 - the mock attack on Ireland and the UK is broadcast
Russian state TV broadcast a simulated nuclear attack on Ireland and the UK in response to support shown for Ukraine.
The video shows a powerful underwater missile being set off just off the coast of Donegal.
Although Ireland was never explicitly named, a pal of Putin TV anchor Dmitry Kiselyov claimed that it would destroy the “British Isles.”
Another option described was the use of Russia's unmanned underwater nuclear-capable vehicle Poseidon.
The Taoiseach Micheal Martin later issued a response telling President Putin that he would be “held to account” for his actions
May 9 - Russia blames the West for the invasion
During the Victory Day celebrations, Putin claimed that “the West was planning to invade Russia” and they had to act accordingly.
He told the Russian people that the war was necessary because the West was “preparing for the invasion of our land, including Crimea,” a baseless claim.
Putin told crowds of troops and tanks that “in Kyiv, they were saying they might get nuclear weapons and Nato started exploring the lands close to us, and that became an obvious threat to us and our borders,” another statement with no evidence to support it.
It was originally expected that Putin would use the day to announce an all-out war on Ukraine but instead, he enforced his anti-West rhetoric.
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