What happens if Russia declares war on Nato?

Fears are growing after Vladimir Putin's 'unusually specific warning' to Western governments

Illustration of Vladimir Putin encircled by Nato country flags
Vladimir Putin warned the West that equipping Ukraine with long-range missiles would mean Nato is at war with Russia
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images)

Moscow has revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats after Vladimir Putin warned the West against allowing Ukraine to use long-range weapons to target Russia.

The Russian president told the US and UK that giving Kyiv the green light would mean that "Nato countries, the US, European countries, are at war with Russia" – an "unusually specific warning", said The New York Times (NYT).

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  Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.