Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened again to use nuclear weapons against the West in an interview with Russian state television published on Wednesday.
According to Putin, Russia is ready to defend itself with nuclear weapons in case of a threat to "the existence of the Russian state, our sovereignty and independence" in the context of the war with Ukraine. However, he also remarked that there was no need for such an escalation yet.
"All that is written in our strategy, we haven't changed it," Putin remarked.
The Russian president made the comments to state media Rossiya 1 and RIA Novosti ahead of the March 15 presidential election, where Putin is expected to comfortably win his fifth term due to his absolute control over the Russian political system and crackdown on dissent.
In addition to threatening the use of nuclear weapons, Putin also said that if the U.S. sends troops to Ukraine, Russia would consider them as invading forces. However, he also stressed that President Joe Biden is a veteran politician who understands that such a situation would involve unnecessary escalation.
"Apart from [U.S. President Joe] Biden, there are enough other experts in the sphere of Russian-American relations and strategic restraint. So I don't think that everything is going to go head-on here, but we are ready for it," Putin warned.
The Russian president also said that if NATO allies eventually send troops to Ukraine, it will not change the course of the war.
"If it turns to official foreign military contingents, I'm sure it will not change the situation on the battlefield ... just as the weapons supplies haven't changed anything," Putin said.
Finally, following the advances of Russian troops on the battlefield, the Russian president declared that at some point, Ukraine and its Western allies will have to accept an agreement to end the war on terms that favor Russia.
"It shouldn't be a break for the enemy to rearm, but a serious talk involving the guarantees of security for the Russian Federation," the Russian leader concluded.
