Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that the threat of nuclear war is “growing”, writes The Guardian.

He announced this at the annual televised meeting of the Council under the President of Russia on the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights.

Putin insisted that Russia has not “gone mad” and sees its own nuclear arsenal as a purely defensive deterrent.

“We are not crazy, we know what nuclear weapons are. We have these means in a more advanced and modern form than any other nuclear country, this is an obvious fact. But we will not run around the world brandishing this weapon like a razor,” he said.

Putin added that Russia “can be the sole guarantor of Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” adding, “It depends on Ukraine’s new leaders.”

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