Moscow
\nPresident Vladimir Putin has warned the Western countries that Russia is \u201cfully prepared\u201d for a nuclear war, emphasizing that any deployment of United States troops to Ukraine would be regarded as a substantial escalation of the ongoing military operation.
\n\u201cFrom a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready,\u201d Putin told Rossiya-1 television and news agency RIA in response to a question whether the country was really ready for a nuclear war.
\nIn line with the country\u2019s security doctrine, he said on Wednesday that Moscow is ready to use nuclear weapons in case of a threat to \u201cthe existence of the Russian state, our sovereignty and independence.\u201d
\n\u201cWeapons exist in order to use them,\u201d Putin said. \u201cIf the United States conducts nuclear tests, Russia might do the same,\u201d he added.
\nPutin, 71, stated that the US was aware that any deployment of American troops on Russian soil or in Ukraine would be regarded by Russia as \u201cinterventionists.\u201d
\n\u201c(In the US) there are enough specialists in the field of Russian-American relations and in the field of strategic restraint,\u201d Putin said.
\n\u201cTherefore, I don\u2019t think that here everything is rushing to it (nuclear confrontation), but we are ready for this.\u201d \u201cFrom the military-technical viewpoint, we\u2019re prepared.\u201d
\nPutin has already sent a series of public nuclear warnings to the US aimed at discouraging greater involvement in Ukraine, which would mark a \u201cslide into world war.\u201d
\nAs shortage of Western ammunition bites Ukraine, US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns warned earlier this week that if the West did not provide proper support for Ukraine, Kiev would lose more territory to Russia, which would embolden Chinese President Xi Jinping.
\nThe Russia president also said said the country was ready for serious talks on Ukraine.
\n\u201cRussia is ready for negotiations on Ukraine, but they should be based on reality\u2013and not on cravings after the use of psychotropic drugs,\u201d Putin said.
\nIn his state-of-the-nation address last month, he issued the latest cautionary statement, alerting the West that escalating its participation in the conflict in Ukraine could potentially lead to a nuclear war.
\nThe conflict has caused the deepest downfall in Russia\u2019s relation with the West since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Moscow President Vladimir Putin has warned the Western countries that Russia is \u201cfully prepared\u201d for a nuclear war, emphasizing that any deployment of United States troops to Ukraine would be regarded as a substantial escalation of the ongoing military operation. \u201cFrom a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready,\u201d Putin told Rossiya-1 television […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-393581","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n