Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s ally has warned that Russia has the weapons to eliminate any opponent, including the United States, if its existence is threatened, blaming the United States for undervaluing Russia’s nuclear strength.
Nikolai Patrushev‘s comment, influential secretary of Russia’s Security Council, is the latest from a senior Russian official to increase the specter of a nuclear showdown between the World’s two largest nuclear powers, something Moscow says it wants to sidestep.
Patrushev told the state Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper on Monday that American politicians trapped by their own propaganda remain confident that, in the event of a direct conflict with Russia, the US is capable of launching a preventive missile strike, after which Russia will no longer be able to respond. This is short-sighted stupidity, and very dangerous.
Russia is patient and does not threaten anyone with its military advantage. But it has modern unique weapons capable of eliminating any opposition, including the US, in the event of a threat to its existence.”
Patrushev added.
Russia has said that one of the causes it sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2023 in what it calls its “special military operation” was to oppose a perceived security threat arising from Kyiv’s rapprochement with the US-led Nato defense alliance.
Since then, Russia has charged the West, without giving public evidence, of making nuclear threats against it, and has spoken of its willingness to use nuclear weapons in extreme possibilities if the very existence of the Russian state is threatened.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said Russia would station tactical nuclear missiles in its close supporter Belarus, which borders Ukraine and Russia, sending a warning to NATO about its military support for Ukraine and escalating a standoff with the West.
