Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the country would be ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty was threatened. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Russia remains in a state of combat readiness and is fully ready for a nuclear war, but not “everything is rushing to it” at present, President Vladimir Putin said in remarks published on March 13.

In an interview with state media, Mr. Putin, who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is nearly certain to win the March 15 to 17 presidential election, said Russia would be ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty was threatened. “From a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready,” Mr. Putin told Rossiya-1 television and news agency RIA in response to a question on whether the country was ready for a nuclear war.

He said the United States understands that if it deploys American troops on Russian territory — or to Ukraine — Russia would treat the move as an intervention. “(In the United States) there are enough specialists in the field of Russian-American relations and in the field of strategic restraint,” Mr. Putin said, adding, “Therefore, I don’t think that here everything is rushing to it (nuclear confrontation), but we are ready for this.”

Kremlin’s nuclear doctrine

Mr. Putin reiterated that the use of nuclear weapons was spelt out in the Kremlin’s nuclear doctrine, its policy setting out the circumstances in which Russia might use its weapons. “Weapons exist in order to use them,” Putin said. “We have our own principles.”

If the United States conducted nuclear tests, Russia might do the same, he added in the wide-ranging interview. “It’s not necessary … we still need to think about it, but I don’t rule out that we can do the same.”

However, Mr. Putin said Russia had never faced a need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, where the conflict has raged since February 2022. “Why do we need to use weapons of mass destruction? There has never been such a need.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on February 20 that Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space, claiming that the country has only developed space capabilities similar to those of the U.S.

Mr. Putin’s statement follows the White House confirmation last week that Russia has obtained a “troubling” anti-satellite weapon capability, although such a weapon is not operational yet. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said it would violate the international Outer Space Treaty, but declined to comment on whether the weapon is nuclear-capable.

The treaty signed by more than 130 countries, including Russia, prohibits the deployment of “nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction” in orbit or the stationing of “weapons in outer space in any other manner.” The White House said it would look to engage the Russians directly on the concerns.

“Our position is quite clear and transparent: we have always been and remain categorically opposed to the deployment of nuclear weapons in space,” Putin said. “Just the opposite, we are urging everyone to adhere to all the agreements that exist in this sphere.”

Speaking during a meeting with his defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, Mr. Putin noted that Russia has only developed space capabilities that “other nations, including the U.S. have.”

“And they know it,” he added.

“We haven’t deployed any nuclear weapons in space or any elements of them to use against satellites or to create fields where satellites can’t work efficiently,” Mr. Shoigu said.

Mr. Shoigu alleged that the White House could have made the allegations of a new Russian space capability in order to force Congress to support aid for Ukraine and also encourage Moscow to reenter nuclear arms control talks that Russia has suspended amid the tensions with the U.S. over Ukraine.

Mr. Putin didn’t rule out possible future contacts with the U.S., but reaffirmed his view that Washington’s push for Russia’s defeat in Ukraine makes them impossible for now.

“The U.S. and the West, for one thing, are calling for Russia’s strategic defeat, while, on the other hand, they would like to have a dialogue on strategic stability, pretending that those things aren’t connected,” he said. “It won’t work.”