> What rubbish - only fools will believe that Russia has an interest in starting a nuclear WW3.

Putin's regime threatens western Europe in general with nuclear strikes on a weekly basis. With Russia facing an eminent collapse in Ukraine, naturally Putin is desperately looking for a way out of his mess that doesn't end up with him killed. Fabricating a "NATO caught us with the pants down and we had to defend the homeland at all cost" tall tale is the kind of desperate move that can be expected from the character,as it's far better than having to explain a new Kherson-style collapse 4 years into a 3-day special military operation.