On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a nuclear warning to the West over Ukraine. He also announced the suspension of a historic nuclear arms control treaty, the deployment of new strategic systems for combat, and the possibility that Moscow may resume nuclear tests.
Putin said that Russia will achieve its military goals and charged the West with attempting to destroy Russia, speaking almost exactly one year after ordering an invasion that led to the largest conflict with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
“The Western elites are open about their goals. Yet, they also must understand that Russia cannot be defeated militarily “Putin warned his nation’s political and military elite in a belligerent manner.
Alerting United States that it was stoking the war into a global conflict, Putin said that Russia was suspending participation in the New START Treaty, the last major arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington.
Signed by then-US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, in 2010, the treaty caps the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy. It was due to expire in 2026.
“I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty,” said Putin.
The Russian leader said, without citing evidence, that some people in Washington were thinking about resuming nuclear testing. Russia’s defence ministry and nuclear corporation should therefore be ready to test Russian nuclear weapons if necessary, he said.
