CNN
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Russia is prepared to use nuclear weapons if there is a threat to the existence of the Russian state, but “there has never been such a need,” President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with state media published on Wednesday. Ta.
The Russian leader made the comments to Russia 1 news agency and RIA Novosti ahead of the March 15 presidential election. The president is widely expected to win a fifth term and comes as the full-scale war in Ukraine enters its third year.
Putin said that from a military and technological point of view, Russia was ready for nuclear war, but he did not explicitly say that nuclear war was imminent.
He warned that if US troops were sent to Ukraine, Russia would treat them as interventionists.
“(Apart from US President Joe Biden) there are enough other experts in the field of Russian-American relations and strategic restraint. So I don't think everything will go head-on here, but we We are ready for that,” President Putin said.
Putin said the United States is also developing nuclear forces, but that does not mean the United States is ready to “start a nuclear war tomorrow.”
“They are now setting an agenda to increase this modernity, innovation, and they have a corresponding plan. We know about that too. They are developing all the components. So are we,” Putin said.
“Weapons exist to use them. We have our own principles.”
Earlier this month, two senior U.S. officials told CNN that the United States had begun “rigorous preparations” for the possibility of Russia attacking Ukraine with nuclear weapons in late 2022.
The Biden administration was particularly concerned about Russia's potential use of tactical or battlefield nuclear weapons, officials said.
Last year, President Putin deployed tactical nuclear weapons to neighboring ally Belarus, and former Russian President and Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev warned that strategic nuclear weapons could be used to protect territory annexed to Russia from Ukraine. He said that there is a possibility that
Putin said in an interview with Russian state media that he thought the West could “eliminate” Russia at the start of the invasion of Ukraine, but that was not the case and that Moscow's financial and economic systems were stable and its military capabilities were growing. He insisted that he was just doing it. .
Estimates of Russia's defense production by NATO intelligence suggest that Russia appears to be on track to produce almost three times as many artillery shells as the United States or Europe, which is expected later this year. This is an important advantage ahead of another Russian attack on Ukraine. NATO officials said the country also operates artillery factories in 12-hour shifts “24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
But U.S. and Western officials say Russia's buildup remains insufficient to meet Russia's needs, and Western intelligence officials do not expect Russia to make any major gains on the battlefield in the short term. I haven't.
Meanwhile, Ukraine desperately needs U.S. assistance with weapons and armaments, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said “millions” could die without it.
The Biden administration on Tuesday announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth up to $300 million, but Biden said it was “almost not enough” and that Congress would need to pass additional funding. Ta.
Putin said in an interview with state media that Russia is ready to negotiate on the Ukraine issue, but only on the basis of reality.
“Are we ready to negotiate? Yes, we are ready, but we are only ready to negotiate and not based on some kind of desire after using psychotropic drugs. As they say in such cases, it is only based on the realities that have developed on the ground, ”Putin said.
Asked whether a “fair deal” with the West was possible, he said: “No one believes it, but we need guarantees.”
President Zelenskiy has previously rejected suggestions that the time has come for peace talks with the Kremlin and has repeatedly said he has no intention of giving up Ukrainian territory.
“When you want to compromise or have a dialogue with someone, you can't do that with a liar,” he told CNN in September.
In an interview with Russia 1 aired on Wednesday, Putin also said that Ukraine's attacks on Belgorod and Kursk come amid Kiev's “failure” on the battlefield. He added that the purpose of Ukraine's attack was to interfere with Russia's upcoming elections.