President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that a massive Russian overnight attack on Ukrainian infrastructure was a response to Kyiv's attacks on Russian regions using longer-range Western missiles.

The Georgia populist, who is never short of a wild conspiracy theory, took to X on Monday to respond to a thinly-sourced post by conservative influencer Mario Nawfal on the Russia-Ukraine war that read: “WTF: U.S WANTS TO ARM UKRAINE WITH NUKES BEFORE BIDEN LEAVES?!

President Vladimir Putin warned that his forces could strike “decision-making centers” in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv with new ballistic missiles as retaliation for attacks on Russia using Western missiles.