Russia is ready for nuclear war, Putin warns

President Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia is “ready” to use nuclear weapons if there is a threat to its statehood.

In a recorded interview broadcast by Russian media on Wednesday, the Kremlin chief said his country is ready for a nuclear war from a “military-technical” point of view. His comments signal a resumption of nuclear “sabre-rattling“, as it was branded a year ago, just ahead of this weekend’s presidential election.

Two weeks ago, Putin claimed during an annual address to the nation of a “real” risk of nuclear war if Western countries sent troops to fight in Ukraine. On Wednesday, he insisted that Russia’s nuclear arsenal and troops hold the advantage over the West, reports Al-Jazeera.
“From a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready. They (Russian forces) are constantly in a state of combat readiness,” Putin said during an interview with the Rossiya-1 state TV channel.

“Our triad, the nuclear triad, it is more modern than any other triad,” he continued. “Only we and the Americans actually have such triads. And we have advanced much more here.”
Putin and other Russian officials have regularly referenced the country’s nuclear capabilities since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the West’s response in supporting Kyiv. However, Moscow denies that the reminders are meant to be threatening.

Putin was careful to note in his latest comments that the US had sufficient expertise “in the field of Russian-American relations and in the field of strategic restraint” to understand the risks. There was no “rushing” to the nuclear scenario, he said.

The Russian president also addressed recent Ukrainian attacks on targets inside Russia, which have surged in recent weeks as Moscow’s forces have made gains on the largely frozen front line in eastern Ukraine.