26 May 2025 , 14:46
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The Russian leader said there’s been no need for nuclear weapons — yet — and he hopes it stays that way.
Russia has 5,449 nuclear warheads - the largest number of atomic weapons on earth - which can launch from missiles, submarines and aircraft.
Experts say Putin, who hoodwinked the world into believing he would show up for peace talks only to give them a miss, could not be trusted in word or deed.
He has already placed his nuclear forces on “combat duty” and lowered the threshold for weapons use from an existential threat to Russia to a threat to its territorial integrity.
Despite the menacing manoeuvres the despot, who seized when Boris Yeltsin resigned in 1999, said: “We have enough strength and means to bring what was started in 2022 to a logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires.”
Putin signed a revamped version of Russia’s nuclear doctrine in November making clear the circumstances allowing him to use Moscow’s atomic arsenal. It lowered the bar, giving him that option in response to even a conventional attack backed by a nuclear power.
It is the first time in Putin’s reign as president he has essentially placed his nuclear forces on a war footing.
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