Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday that Russia is technically ready for nuclear war and that if the United States sends troops into Ukraine, it would be considered a major escalation of the war, Reuters reported.

Just days before Russia’s presidential election (March 15-17), which will surely give him another six-year term, Putin said he was in no “rush” to a nuclear war scenario and saw no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

“From a military-technical point of view, of course, we are ready,” 71-year-old Putin told the Russia-1 TV channel and the RIA news agency, answering a question about whether the country is really ready for a nuclear war.

Vladimir Putin: We are ready for nuclear war

Putin said the United States understands that if it deploys American troops on Russian territory or in Ukraine, Russia will see that decision as an intervention in the conflict.

“(The US) has enough specialists in the field of Russian-American relations and in the field of strategic moderation. Therefore, I do not think that the matter is in a hurry to something like this (nuclear confrontation), but we are ready for it,” he said.

Putin, the ultimate decision-maker on Russia’s nuclear weapons, reiterated that their use is spelled out in the Kremlin’s nuclear doctrine, which defines the circumstances under which Russia can use its nuclear weapons.

“Weapons exist to be used. We have our principles,” said Putin, who has warned several times over the past two years that the West risks provoking a nuclear war if it sends troops to fight in Ukraine.

Russia and the USA are the largest nuclear powers, controlling more than 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons.

“We can agree on Ukraine, but on reality, not on cravings after drug use”

Putin said that Russia is ready for serious negotiations on the conflict. “Russia is ready for negotiations on Ukraine, but they should be based on reality, not on cravings for psychotropic substances,” Putin said.

The statement came after Reuters reported last month that the Russian president had proposed to the United States through an intermediary the idea of ​​a “freeze” on the war, but that the Americans rejected the idea.

If the United States conducted a nuclear test, Russia could do the same, he added in an extended interview published by Russian media. “They’re not needed… we still have to think about it, but I don’t rule out that we can do the same.”

On Saturday, CNN reported that the administration of US President Joe Biden in 2022 was concerned that Russia might use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. According to CNN, US intelligence services have received information that there have been clear communications between Russian officials about a nuclear attack in 2022.

But Putin said that Russia was never able to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. “Why should we use weapons of mass destruction? There has never been such a need,” he said.