Those were escalations not red lines, and Putin has not threatened a nuclear response to anything Ukraine has done (or even anything it could feasibly do).
The western media declares pretty much every escalation step to be a crossed red line though. This meme has reached new heights of absurdity.
Edit:
* No, Putin did not threaten to nuke anyone if Sweden joined NATO. A western newspaper might have declared it to be a red line. It's not a red line.
* No, Putin did not threaten to nuke anyone if Finland joined NATO. A western newspaper might have declared it to be a red line. It's not a red line.
* No, Putin did not threaten to use nukes if Ukraine invaded pre 2014 Russian territory or fired drones at refineries. A western newspaper might have declared it to be a red line. It's not a red line.
* No, "Putin said something vaguely ominous about nukes" is not drawing a red line.
Are Ukraine's rather successful incursion into Russian territory and successful strikes against oil refineries and airfields deep inside Russian territory escalations or red lines?
I can never tell which is which with Russian apologists
I welcome your "not a red line" interpretation of quotes like these:
> Dmitry Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Putin’s powerful security council, was more explicit in January. “The defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional war may trigger a nuclear war,” he said. - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/01/...
> Anticipating international condemnation and countermeasures, Putin issued a stark warning to other countries not to meddle, saying, “whoever tries to impede us, let alone create threats for our country and its people, must know that the Russian response will be immediate and lead to the consequences you have never seen in history.” https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/russia-launches-attacks-u...
> Those were escalations not red lines, and Putin has not threatened a nuclear response to anything Ukraine has done (or even anything it could feasibly do).
Putin threatened nukes if Sweden and Finland joined NATO, but I'm sure that's just a meme as well.
The western media declares pretty much every escalation step to be a crossed red line though. This meme has reached new heights of absurdity.
Edit:
* No, Putin did not threaten to nuke anyone if Sweden joined NATO. A western newspaper might have declared it to be a red line. It's not a red line.
* No, Putin did not threaten to nuke anyone if Finland joined NATO. A western newspaper might have declared it to be a red line. It's not a red line.
* No, Putin did not threaten to use nukes if Ukraine invaded pre 2014 Russian territory or fired drones at refineries. A western newspaper might have declared it to be a red line. It's not a red line.
* No, "Putin said something vaguely ominous about nukes" is not drawing a red line.