Vladimir Putin has slammed Europe as “defenceless” against his near-5,000-strong atomic arsenal as fears over his willingness to press the nuclear button continue to mount. Talking up his stockpile at a forum in St Petersburg, the 71-year-old premier sounded bullish as he took pot-shots at the West’s ballistic back-catalogue, even including American nuclear weapons in his criticism in a scathing address to delegates. Putin said Russia had “many more [tactical nuclear weapons] than there are on the European continent – even if the United States brings theirs over”. He continued: “Europe does no…