Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted on Wednesday that his country’s nuclear weapons are “more advanced” than those of the United States and that his arsenal is always “ready” for nuclear war, AFP reported.

The West regularly accuses the Russian president of veiled threats in this regard, in particular regarding the use of these weapons in Ukraine.

“We and the Americans are the only ones who really have triads. And here we are much more advanced. Our entire nuclear component is more modern,” he said in a major interview with Russian television before the start of the presidential election on Friday.

Vladimir Putin added that his country is “ready” for a nuclear conflict, but he has never considered the possibility of using such weapons in Ukraine.

“Why should we use weapons of mass destruction? There has never been such a need,” he said, noting that Russian military doctrine provides for the use of extreme weapons in the event of a threat to Russia’s existence or in the event of “an attack on our sovereignty and independence.”

The United States said there was nothing new about this. “We have seen no reason to adjust our own nuclear posture and no indication that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine,” White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre said.

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Vladimir Putin and the Cheget nuclear suitcase Photo: east2west news / WillWest News / Profimedia

Putin wants written security guarantees

In an interview published by the RIA Novosti agency on Wednesday, just two days before the start of the presidential elections in Russia, Putin said that Moscow is ready to end the war by “peaceful means”, but that Ukraine must take into account “the realities on the ground”.

Putin again called for security guarantees from Russia, saying they would be needed to end the war in Ukraine, Reuters and Bloomberg reported.

Both Putin and his spokesman Dmytro Peskov, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other Moscow officials have repeatedly used this wording, referring to the fact that Ukraine must accept the loss of its territories claimed by Russia and which the Kremlin leader declared annexed in September 2022.

“In this case, we are mainly interested in the security of Russia. We will move on from this,” he said in an interview on Wednesday about the security guarantees that Moscow claims.

When asked if a “correct understanding” with the West is possible, Putin replied that Russia wants written guarantees.

“I don’t trust anyone, but we need guarantees, and the guarantees must be in writing, they must be of such a nature that we are satisfied,” he explained.