By
The Associated Press
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is willing to use nuclear weapons if there is a threat to its sovereignty or independence, but he said he hopes the United States will refrain from actions that could trigger a nuclear conflict.
The president's statements were another clear warning to the West ahead of this week's presidential election in which he will almost certainly win re-election for another six-year term.
In an interview with Russian state television published early Wednesday, Putin described his American counterpart, Joe Biden, as a veteran politician who fully understands the possible dangers of an escalation and said he does not believe the world is heading towards a nuclear war.
But at the same time he indicated that the Russian forces are fully prepared and "from a military-technical point of view, we are ready."
According to Putin, in accordance with the country's security doctrine, Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons in case of a threat to "the existence of the Russian state, our sovereignty and independence."
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, during an interview with the general director of the Rossiya Segodnya International media group, Dmitry Kiselev, in Moscow, Russia, on March 12, 2024. Gavriil Grigorov / AP
The Russian leader has repeatedly spoken about his willingness to use nuclear weapons since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
His most recent threat came in his State of the Union address last month, when he warned the West that increasing its involvement in the conflict in Ukraine could lead to nuclear war.
Asked if he had ever considered using nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine, the president responded that there has been no need.
[Putin threatens the West with a nuclear war if it sends troops to fight in Ukraine]
Furthermore, he expressed his confidence that they will achieve their objectives in Ukraine and issued a firm warning to his Western allies indicating that “nations that say they have no red lines with respect to Russia should realize that Russia also has no red lines with respect to they".
The president left the door open to negotiations and stressed that any agreement would require firm guarantees from the West.
“It should not be a pause for the enemy to rearm, but rather a serious conversation that
implies security guarantees for the Russian Federation
,” he noted.
Putin also said that the increase in Ukrainian drone attacks inside Russia is part of efforts to disrupt the presidential elections, which begin on Friday and will last three days, in which he is expected to win by an overwhelming majority. taking advantage of the tight control he has exercised over the country's politics in his 24 years in power.
Russian authorities reported another major Ukrainian drone attack early Wednesday morning.
According to the Ministry of Defense, anti-aircraft defenses shot down 58 unmanned aircraft in six regions.
One that hit an oil refinery in the Ryazan region caused at least two injuries and caused a fire, while another was neutralized as it approached a refinery near St. Petersburg.
Ukraine also reported more Russian operations early Wednesday.
A Russian attack killed two people and wounded five others in the town of Myrnohrad in the eastern Donetsk region, about 20 miles from the front line, according to the governor, Vadym Filashkin.
Rescuers managed to pull a 13-year-old girl from the rubble of an apartment building hit by a Russian missile.
A five-story building in the northern city of Sumy was hit by a drone launched from Russia overnight and 10 people were rescued from the rubble, including eight injured, according to the provincial government. homonymous.
In the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the central region of Dnipropetrovsk, the death toll from a Russian missile attack overnight rose to four people, said the governor, Serhii Lysak.
Among the 43 people who were injured in Krivoy Rog were 12 children, including a two-year-old and an 11-month-old.
“Every day, our cities and towns suffer similar attacks.
Every day Ukraine loses people to Russian evil,” Zelenskyy said.