“In the event of an attack on Russia, no one has any chance of survival,” Putin warned.
Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined on Thursday when his country would use nuclear weapons.
The Russian leader escalated his nuclear rhetoric at an annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, declaring that Moscow has successfully tested the nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable Burevestnik cruise missile—a claim Kremlin officials had denied just days earlier.
There have been growing fears throughout Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that Russia may use nuclear weapons.
Many fear that Ukraine retaking Crimea would be a red line for Russia and that Putin may use his country’s nuclear capabilities to defend the territory. Putin illegally annexed the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.
“In the event of an attack on Russia, no one has any chance of survival,” Putin warned.
In a wide-ranging speech, Putin said Russia’s military doctrine outlined two reasons for the country’s potential use of nuclear weapons—the first being a counter attack should another country first launch a nuclear strike on Russia.
