Putin: Russia ready to use nukes if threatened

PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin said Russia was ready to use nuclear weapons if there was a threat to its statehood, sovereignty or independence, voicing hope that the United States would refrain from actions that could trigger a nuclear conflict.

The Russian leader’s statement was another blunt warning to the West ahead of a presidential vote this week in which he is all but certain to win another six-year term.

In an interview with Russian state television on Wednesday morning, Putin described his American counterpart Joe Biden as a veteran politician who fully understood the possible dangers of escalation, saying he did not think the world was heading to a nuclear war.

At the same time, he emphasized that Russia’s nuclear forces are in full readiness and “from the military-technical viewpoint, we’re prepared.”

Putin said that, in line with the country’s security doctrine, Moscow is ready to use nuclear weapons in case of a threat to “the existence of the Russian state, our sovereignty and independence.”

The Russian president has repeatedly talked about his readiness to use nuclear weapons since launching the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The most recent such threat came in his state-of-the-nation address last month, when he warned the West that deepening its involvement in the fighting in Ukraine would risk a nuclear war.

Asked in the interview if he has ever considered using battlefield nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Putin responded that there had been no need for that.

He also voiced confidence that Moscow would achieve its goals in Ukraine and issued a blunt warning to Western allies, declaring that “the nations that say they have no red lines regarding Russia should realize that Russia won’t have any red lines regarding them either.”

He held the door open for talks, but emphasized that Russia would hold onto its gains and would seek firm guarantees from the West.

“It shouldn’t be a break for the enemy to rearm but a serious talk involving the guarantees of security for the Russian Federation,” he said.

Putin said a recent spike in Ukrainian drone attacks deep inside Russia was part of efforts to derail the country’s threeday presidential election, set to start on Friday.

The interview comes as Russian authorities reported another major attack by Ukrainian drones. Moscow’s Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 58 drones over six regions. One of the drones hit an oil refinery in the Ryazan region, injuring at least two people and sparking a fire. Another was downed as it was approaching a refinery near the city of St. Petersburg.

Ukraine, meanwhile, reported more Russian attacks on Wednesday morning.

A Russian strike killed two people and injured another five in the town of Myrnohrad in the eastern Donetsk region, about 30 kilometers (about 20 miles) from the front line, Gov. Vadym Filashkin said. Local rescuers managed to pull a 13-year-old girl out of the rubble of an apartment building that was hit by a Russian missile.

A five-story building in the northern city of Sumy was struck by a drone launched from Russia overnight and 10 people were rescued from the rubble, including eight who sustained injuries, the regional administration there said.

In Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, the death toll from a Russian missile attack the previous night rose to four, Gov. Serhii Lysak said. Forty-three people were wounded in Kryvyi Rih, including 12 children, the youngest of them 2 and 11-month-old, he added.

“Every day our cities and villages suffer similar attacks. Every day Ukraine loses people because of Russian evil,” Zelenskyy said.