MOSCOW—Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Monday that a direct conflict between Russia and the U.S.–led NATO military alliance would mean the planet was one step away from World War Three but said hardly anyone wanted such a scenario.
The Ukraine war has triggered the deepest crisis in Moscow’s relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Mr. Putin has often warned of the risks of nuclear war but says he has never felt the need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
