With Memes and in State Media, Many Russians Cheer on Putin’s Threats

The day after President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia raised the stakes in tensions with the West, many Russians awoke on Friday feeling anxious that the prospect of nuclear war had come slightly closer.

But in Russia’s tightly controlled news media and pro-government social media channels, there were only fawning reactions to the Russian leader’s new round of saber-rattling and promises that Moscow’s enemies would “tremble in fear.”

Mr. Putin announced late Thursday that Russia had launched a new intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine, in response to Kyiv’s first use of U.S. and British missiles against targets inside Russia this week. Russia, he said, also has the right to strike nations “that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities.”

In the West, Thursday’s launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile and Mr. Putin’s remarks were perceived as a threat against Ukraine and its allies, and drew widespread condemnation as an escalation. In Russia, the events were billed as an important sign that the Kremlin would enforce its red lines, with the implication that enforcement could include nuclear weapons.

“This topic used to be a taboo in Russia,” said Denis Volkov, the director of the Levada Center, one of the few independent pollsters in Russia. “Within the elites, the consensus is shifting toward talking about it much more openly, and that Russia should make the West understand that it is serious.”

Russians have been largely desensitized to the Kremlin’s frequent bellicose statements and claims of being besieged by the West since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. But there are also signs that more Russians have come to accept and even cheer on Mr. Putin’s hawkish stance, accompanied by a steady stream of government and media claims that Ukraine and the West are the aggressors.