In this photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, a Russian Iskander missile is seen during drills to train the military for using tactical nuclear weapons at an undisclosed location in Russia.
Published June 6, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia could use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty is threatened.
“If somebody’s actions threaten our sovereignty and territorial integrity, we consider it possible to use all means at our disposal,” Putin said, citing what he said is his country’s security policy.
“For some reason, they believe in the West that Russia will never use it,” Putin told a group of international journalists, adding that Russia’s nuclear arsenal is much more powerful that what the U.S. used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during World War II.
The Russian leader spoke face-to-face at some length on the sidelines of the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Putin also had a warning for the U.S. and Germany.
He said that allowing Ukraine to fire long-range, Western-made weapons into Russia could prompt him to place similar Russian weapons in countries within range of the U.S. or its European allies.
“If they consider it possible to deliver such weapons to the combat zone to launch strikes on our territory and create problems for us, why don’t we have the right to supply weapons of the same type to some regions of the world where they can be used to launch strikes on sensitive facilities of the countries that do it to Russia?” he said, according to The Associated Press.
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SOURCE: www.voanews.com
RELATED: Putin warns Russia could provide weapons to strike West
Putin was speaking to foreign journalists at the annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum
Published June 6, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow could arm countries with a view to attacking Western targets.
Mr Putin made the statement while criticising the West’s delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Several countries including the United States have given Ukraine the green light to strike targets inside Russia.
Such action could lead to “very serious problems”, Mr Putin told foreign reporters.
“If someone thinks it is possible to supply such weapons to a war zone to attack our territory and create problems for us, why don’t we have the right to supply weapons of the same class to regions of the world where there will be strikes on sensitive facilities of those countries?” the Russian president said.
“That is, the response can be asymmetric. We will think about it.”
He did not specify which countries Moscow could supply weapons to.
Mr Putin singled out Germany, which recently told Ukraine it was free to hit targets inside Russia with long-range German-made weapons.
“When they say that there will be more missiles which will hit targets on Russian territory, this definitively destroys Russian-German relations,” Mr Putin said.
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SOURCE: www.bbc.com
RELATED: Russia could hand others long-range weapons to strike West, warns Putin
It comes after NATO allies allowed Ukraine to use similar arms to strike targets deep within Russian territory.
Published June 6, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets.
He also reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to use nuclear weapons if it sees a threat to its sovereignty.
The move comes after Germany recently joined the US in authorising Ukraine to hit some targets on Russian soil with the long-range weapons they are supplying to Kyiv.
Putin said Kyiv using such weapons would be a “dangerous step”, which could also ruin relations between Berlin and Moscow.
Such action by the West will further undermine international security and could lead to “very serious problems.” he said, adding that the Kremlin could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets.
“That would mark their direct involvement in the war against the Russian Federation, and we reserve the right to act the same way”.
Putin took questions from international journalists — something that has become extremely rare since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.
