Putin: Nuclear risk is rising, but we are not mad

Vladimir Putin has said the menace of a atomic warfare was rising, but insisted Russia had not "gone mad" and would not usage its atomic weapons first.

The Russian president insisted that his state would lone usage weapons of wide demolition successful effect to an attack.

Speaking astatine Russia's yearly quality rights assembly meeting, helium besides said the warfare successful Ukraine could beryllium a "lengthy process".

Western officials judge Putin initially planned for a accelerated victory.

Russia's capableness to usage atomic weapons has travel nether accrued scrutiny since it invaded Ukraine successful February.

"Such a menace is growing, it would beryllium incorrect to fell it," Putin warned portion talking astir the imaginable of atomic war via video nexus from Moscow.

But helium asserted that Russia would "under nary circumstances" usage the weapons first, and would not endanger anyone with its atomic arsenal.

"We person not gone mad, we are alert of what atomic weapons are," helium said, adding: "We aren't astir to tally astir the satellite brandishing this limb similar a razor."

Putin besides boasted that Russia had the astir modern and precocious atomic weapons successful the world, and contrasted its atomic strategy to the US - who helium said had gone further than Russia by locating its atomic weapons connected different territories.

"We bash not person atomic weapons, including tactical ones, connected the territory of different countries, but the Americans bash - successful Turkey, and successful a fig of different European countries," helium said.

Putin has antecedently insisted that Russia's atomic doctrine lone allowed for the antiaircraft usage of atomic arms.

Appearing to recognise that his program to assertion triumph wrong days of invading Ukraine had failed, Putin admitted the warfare could beryllium a "lengthy process".

However, helium said the results had already been "significant" - for example, the caller territories Russia has illegally claimed aft sham-referendums successful 4 regions of Ukraine.

He boasted that the annexations had made the Sea of Azov - which is bordered by south-east Ukraine and south-west Russia - an "internal sea" of Russia, adding that this was an aspiration of Russian Tsar Peter the Great. President Putin has compared himself to the 17th and 18th Century ruler before.

Last month, Russian forces were forced to retreat from Kherson city, the lone determination superior they had seized since the February invasion.

In the run-up to Wednesday's meeting, 10 members of the assembly who had expressed doubts astir the warfare were removed. Pro-war replacements were brought successful instead.

Subjects to beryllium discussed during the gathering were besides heavy vetted beforehand, according to the autarkic Russian quality outlet Vertska.

In caller weeks, Russia's atomic doctrine has travel nether adjacent scrutiny connected erstwhile atomic arms could beryllium used, successful peculiar a "tactical" limb that mightiness beryllium unleashed connected the battlefield successful Ukraine.

A tactical atomic limb is for usage successful combat, arsenic opposed to the larger "strategic" weapons which are designed to origin monolithic destruction.