Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to perpetuate nuclear war rhetoric during his Wednesday address, threatening to use nuclear weapons on outside countries who come to Ukraine’s defense.

“If someone from outside moves to interfere in the current developments, they should know that they will indeed create strategic threats to Russia, which are unacceptable to us, and they should know that our response to encounter assaults will be instant, it will be quick,” Putin said, per the Russian state media.

“We have all the tools to do it, tools that others can’t boast of at the moment, but as for us, we won’t be boasting,” Putin added.

He put nuclear forces on high alert on February 27, just days after Russia invaded Ukraine.

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U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called Putin’s continued mentioning of nuclear war “very dangerous and unhelpful,” following his visit to Kyiv to visit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the weekend.

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said Putin’s threat to “escalate to de-escalate” makes him “the most dangerous individual in history” during an appearance on MSNBC.

Watch the full video of Putin’s comments below.

The U.S. continues to aid Ukraine in supplying weapons and training. This week, they pledged another $713 million in foreign military financing and announced that around half the number of howitzers promised to the country have already arrived.

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