Vladimir Putin has mentioned the Russia is ready to use of nuclear weapons if there is a danger to its statehood, sovereignty or independence.
'From a military-technical perspective, we are, of course, prepared. They [nuclear missiles] are always in a state of readiness for combat,' the Russian president informed TV presenter Dmitry Kiselev for Russia 1 and RIA Novosti.
He emphasized, however, that he has never felt a need to employ nuclear weapons in his conflict against Ukraine.
When asked by Kiselev if he ever considered such a possibility, he simply responded: 'No, but why?'
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Putin added: 'We have our own principles. What they are suggesting is that we are willing to use weapons, including any weapons, including the ones you mentioned, if we are talking about the existence of the Russian state, harming our sovereignty and independence.
'We have everything written down in our strategy, we haven't altered it.'
In 2020, the Kremlin announced in an executive order that it had four justifications for resorting to nuclear weapons, including as a pre-emptive strike or in response to a nuclear strike against it.
The sole other two grounds for long-range nuclear weapons would be in response to a threat that would limit its control over its nuclear arms, such as a cyberattack, or when the 'existence' of Russia itself is at risk, the order stated.
Russia possesses nearly 6,000 nuclear warheads, the largest stockpile in the world, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
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