Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia is ready for nuclear war if its sovereignty and independence are threatened, marking the second time in two weeks he’s made reference to his country’s nuclear capabilities.
Speaking with Russian state television, Putin emphasized that Russia is prepared to use nuclear weapons if he feels their use is necessary, but said he doesn’t believe that scenario is likely, predicting that U.S. policymakers will avoid directly intervening in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“From a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready,” Putin said.
“Apart from Biden, there are enough other experts in the sphere of Russian-American relations and strategic restraint. So I don’t think that everything is going to go head-on here, but we are ready for it,” Putin said.
The Russian president’s remarks, which were last echoed in his annual State of the Nation address to the Russian parliament late last month, come days ahead of the March 15-17 presidential election, in which Putin is expected to be reelected for the fifth time, securing yet another six-year term.
Putin’s previous warning came after French president Emmanuel Macron suggested sending NATO troops to Ukraine, despite there being no plans to do so.
“[Western nations] must realize that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory,” Putin said in late February. “All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Don’t they get that?!”
In the interview that was released early Wednesday, Putin acknowledged that Russia is tracking U.S. nuclear modernization efforts.
“They are now setting tasks to increase this modernity, innovation, they have a corresponding plan. We know about it too. They are developing all their components. So are we,” Putin said. “Weapons exist in order to use them. We have our own principles.”
Putin clarified that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons ‘if we are talking about the existence of the Russian state, about the threat to our sovereignty and independence,” which is in line with the country’s stated security doctrine.
He also said that “there has never been such a need” to deploy nuclear weapons against Ukraine, even when the embattled nation reclaimed some of its land in successful counteroffensives. In July, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Ukraine recaptured roughly half of the territory that Russia seized since launching a full-scale assault in February 2022.