Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the West that Moscow is ready for a nuclear war and if the West sends its troops to Ukraine, it would be considered an escalation of war.
The US is grappling on the issue of supporting the war in Ukraine with Joe Biden and Donald Trump having varied views on the issue. Biden is seeking to continue US-backing for the war, while Trump in his election rallies has said that if voted to power, he would end the war.
Putin clarified that Moscow would not want to use nuclear weapons and that there was no need for the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. However, if the United States conducted nuclear tests, Russia might be forced to do the same.
“From a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready,” Putin, told Rossiya-1 television and news agency RIA in response to a question whether the country was really ready for a nuclear war.
Putin added that “I don’t think that here everything is rushing to it [nuclear confrontation], but we are ready for this.”
Over the months, the Russian government has repeatedly warned the West that it risks provoking a nuclear war if it sends its troops to fight in Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, triggering full-scale war after eight years of conflict in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. The West has backed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy bid to throw out Russian forces from its territory, but with over two years of the war gone, Russia is controlling over one-fifth of the territory.
Both the super powers control over 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons. Putin has said that Russia is ready for serious talks on the issue. According to reports, Putin’s suggestion of a ceasefire in Ukraine was rejected by the United States after contacts between intermediaries.
