Putin says Russian nuclear weapons ‘more advanced’ than in US | Maqvi News

MOSCOW  –  President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday lauded Moscow’s nuclear arsenal and warned that he was ready to deploy the weapons if Russia’s sovereignty was threatened. The Kremlin has touted its nuclear prowess throughout its two-year offen­sive in Ukraine, last month warn­ing Western countries there was a “real” risk of nuclear catastro­phe if they escalated the conflict.

Putin’s browbeating rhetoric comes just days ahead of elec­tions in Russia that are all but guaranteed to hand him anoth­er six years in power and as his military posts gains in Ukraine.

“Our triad, the nuclear triad, it is more modern than any other triad. Only we and the Americans actually have such triads. And we have advanced much more here,” Putin said in a wide-ranging interview with state media.

The “triad” refers to Russia’s three-pronged arsenal of weap­ons launched from land, sea and air. “We are ready to use weap­ons, including any weapons — including the weapons you men­tioned — if it is a question of the existence of the Russian state or damage to our sovereignty and independence,” Putin added in the interview that aired on Wednesday. The Russian leader also dismissed recent comments by French leader Emmanuel Ma­cron, who last month declined to rule out putting boots on the ground, a significant shift in rhetoric as Ukraine struggles on the battlefield.“The fact is that the militaries of Western countries have been present in Ukraine for a long time,” the Russian leader claimed, refer­ring to what the Kremlin says are mercenaries.

“But if we talk about official military contingents of foreign countries, I am sure it will not change the situation on the bat­tlefield,” he added. While Macron has doubled down on his re­marks, several of Ukraine’s allies, including Washington, have dis­tanced themselves from the idea, which stunned many in Europe.

Putin’s comments came hours after Kyiv targeted Russia’s en­ergy infrastructure and border regions for the second day in a row. Ukrainian drones attacked three oil refineries hundreds of kilometres from the frontline in the regions of Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Leningrad, a se­curity source told AFP.

“Our task is to deprive the en­emy of resources and reduce the flow of oil money and fuel,” the source said. One drone caused a fire and wounded several people when it crashed into an oil re­finery in the Ryazan region that lies some 200 kilometres (120 miles) southeast of Moscow, Ryazan regional governor Pavel Malkov wrote on Telegram. In the Rostov region bordering Ukraine, air defences downed three drones flying towards the city of Novoshakhtinsk, regional governor Vasily Golubev said.

The day before, Russia said it had repelled a series of bra­zen cross-border raids by pro-Ukrainian militias, who burst into its territory and claimed to seize control of a village. Putin said that Ukraine was upping its attacks on Russian territory to interfere with upcoming presi­dential elections.

“It’s simple. This is all happen­ing against the backdrop of fail­ures on the frontline. They did not achieve any of the goals that they set for themselves last year,” Putin said. “I have no doubt that the main goal is, if not to disrupt the presidential elections in Rus­sia then to somehow interfere with the normal process,” he said. Ukraine has ceded ground to Rus­sian forces in recent months as it faces a myriad of shortages, from artillery to air defences, in part be­cause a $60 billion aid package re­mains held up in the US Congress.