Russian President Vladimir Putin says NATO countries risk facing "tragic" consequences if they send troops to Ukraine.

“[Western nations] must understand that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilisation,” he said.

Putin’s comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron said sending troops to Ukraine should not be “ruled out” on Monday.

Following Macron’s comments, multiple Western countries such as the US and UK have revealed they had no plans to send troops to Ukraine.

During his speech, the Russian President also said it is “nonsense” that he would ever attack Europe but warned of a potential nuclear conflict if the West tried an “intervention" in Russia.