Putin’s nuclear war threat warning

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin has issued a chilling warning about the rising threat of a nuclear war, saying “it could lead to the destruction of civilisation as a whole and maybe even our planet”.

Speaking at his annual news conference, Mr Putin pointed at the US intention to withdraw from the 1987 IntermediateRange Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.He said that if the US puts intermediate-range missiles in Europe, Russia will be forced to take countermeasures.

“We are witnessing the breakup of the arms control system,” Mr Putin said, noting the US plan to opt out of the INF Treaty and its reluctance to negotiate the extension of the New START agreement.

He also noted that Western analysts are talking about the possibility of using low-yield nuclear weapons.

“There is a trend of lowering the threshold” of using nuclear weapons, Mr Putin said.

“Lowering the threshold could lead to a global nuclear catastrophe,” he added.

“We will have to ensure our security,” Mr Putin said.

“And they shouldn’t squeak later about us gaining unilateral advantages. We aren’t seeking advantages, we are trying to preserve the balance and ensure our security.”

Mr Putin also emphasised that the US is pondering the use of ballistic missiles with conventional warheads, saying that the launch of such a missile could be mistaken for the launch of a nucleartipped one and trigger a global catastrophe.