On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin forewarned the West that Russia was prepared for nuclear war and that the deployment of American troops in Ukraine would be viewed as a major escalation of hostilities.
Speaking just days before an election scheduled for March 15–17, which is sure to give him another six years in office, Putin stated that he did not see the need for the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine and that the possibility of a nuclear war was not “rushing” forward.
When asked if the nation was truly prepared for a nuclear conflict, 71-year-old Putin responded, “From a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready,” on Rossiya-1 television and news agency RIA.
Putin stated that the United States was aware that Russia would view the deployment of American forces as an intervention if they were made on Russian soil or in Ukraine.
Putin, the top decision-maker in the largest nuclear power in the world, stated that “there are enough specialists in the U.S. in the field of Russian-American relations and in the field of strategic restraint.”
“Therefore, I don’t think that here everything is rushing to it (nuclear confrontation), but we are ready for this.”
READ ALSO: Russian refinery is destroyed by Ukraine in significant attack
Alongside another proposal for negotiations on Ukraine as part of a new post-Cold War demarcation of European security, Putin issued a nuclear threat. Putin, according to the US, is not prepared for meaningful negotiations over Ukraine.
Putin has repeatedly warned the West that sending soldiers to fight in Ukraine runs the risk of starting a nuclear war. The conflict in Ukraine has caused the greatest crisis in Russia’s relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
After eight years of fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian Ukrainians and Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine, Putin dispatched tens of thousands of troops into the country in February 2022, sparking a full-scale warfare.
A NUCLEAR WAR?
The West is struggling with how to help Kyiv fight Russia, which currently occupies nearly one-fifth of Ukrainian land and is rearming far more quickly than the West and Ukraine, during an election year in the United States.
According to Kiev, it is fighting itself against a conquering war akin to that of the empire that aims to eradicate its national character. It claims that the parts of Ukraine it controls are now part of Russia.
Putin has issued several open nuclear warnings to the United States in an attempt to deter further American participation in Ukraine, which the Kremlin claims would lead to the outbreak of global conflict.
Although Washington claims to have not observed any significant shifts in Russia’s nuclear posture, Washington is becoming concerned due to Putin’s public nuclear threats, which contradict the Soviet leadership’s utmost caution.
Putin restated the use of nuclear weapons as specified in the nuclear doctrine of the Kremlin, which outlines the circumstances in which it would do so: generally speaking, in response to an attack employing nuclear or other WMDs, or in the event that Russia is targeted by conventional weapons “when the very existence of the state is put under threat.”
Putin declared, “Weapons exist so that they can be used.” “We have our own principles.”
According to a CNN story from Saturday, US President Joe Biden’s administration was particularly worried that Russia would deploy a tactical or battlefield nuclear weapon in Ukraine in 2022.
Putin declared that he has never considered using nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
Talks?
Russia was prepared for genuine negotiations on Ukraine, according to Putin.
“Russia is ready for negotiations on Ukraine, but they should be based on reality – and not on cravings after the use of psychotropic drugs,” Putin stated.
According to Reuters last month, following discussions with middlemen, the United States rejected Putin’s proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine to put an end to the conflict.
William Burns, the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, issued a warning earlier this week that Kyiv would lose more land to Russia if the West did not adequately help Ukraine, which would give Chinese President Xi Jinping more confidence.
The Senate Intelligence Committee heard testimony from Burns, a former American ambassador to Russia, who stated that it was in the country’s best interests to assist Ukraine in strengthening its position prior to negotiations.
Putin declared that in the case of a resolution, Russia would require formal security guarantees and that he trusted no one.
“I don’t trust anyone, but we need guarantees, and guarantees must be spelled out, they must be such that we would be satisfied,” Putin stated.
Editing by Lincoln Feast; reporting by Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne.
