Vladimir Putin news LATEST: Tyrant warns he’ll STRIKE West with WMD for ‘crossing the line’ as he escalates Ukraine war

VLADIMIR Putin has partially mobilised troops in an escalation of the war in Ukraine – and ominously warned the West he would hit back. Russian media speculated that Putin would speak on Tuesday evening, defending his forced referendums in occupied areas of Ukraine – but this was cancelled with no reason given. However, at 7am BST Putin finally spoke – and warned his nation would “protect its sovereignty”. The despot also reminded the West that Russia has modern weapons of destruction, saying: “I am not bluffing.” He also confirmed Russia would trigger a “partial mobilisation” of troops – which would include conscripting Russians to join the Ukraine war – after saying the West had “crossed the line”. He said: “I stress it is partial mobilisation. Only those who are in reserve will be conscripted.” Read our Ukraine-Russia live blog below for the latest udpates…