Vladimir Putin's chilling nuclear threat as he locks horns with the West

Irish Daily Mirror

26-05-2025

Vladimir Putin has sent a shiver down the spine of the Western world with his statement: "there has been no need to use (nuclear) weapons...and I hope they will not be required".
As Russia's conflict with Ukraine drags on into its fourth year, the Russian leader made the comment in a propaganda documentary celebrating 25 years at the helm.
With an arsenal of 5,449 nuclear warheads, Russia boasts the most substantial stockpile of atomic firepower on the planet, deployable via missiles, subs, and aircraft.
Security analysts have voiced concerns that Putin, who has gained notoriety for dodging peace talks, is not reliable in his promises or actions.
He has escalated tensions by putting his nuclear forces on "combat duty" and redefining the threshold for using these weapons from facing annihilation to threats against the nation's sovereignty, reports the Express.
However, despite this unsettling posturing, the autocrat, who came to power upon Boris Yeltsin's stepping down in 1999, declared: "We have enough strength and means to bring what was started in 2022 to a logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires."
In a bold move last November, Putin revised Russia's nuclear strategy document, detailing when he can call upon Moscow's nuclear capabilities, extending the scenarios to include non-nuclear strikes from a nuclear state.
Marking a first in his presidential tenure, Putin has essentially put his nuclear forces on alert, signalling a clear readiness for conflict.
No other state has deployed nukes since the US used them in WWII against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending approximately 200,000 lives instantly.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons [ICAN] confirms America's arsenal includes a staggering 5,277 warheads.
The vast majority of nuclear arms are held between Russia and the US, claiming close to 90% of the world's active military slocks. China, France, the UK, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea are the only other countries with access to such destructive firepower.
Geneva's ICAN warns: "A single nuclear warhead could kill hundreds of thousands of people, with lasting and devastating humanitarian and environmental consequences. Detonating just one nuclear weapon alone over New York would cause an estimated 583,160 fatalities."
ICAN reports: "Combined, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States possess over 12,300 nuclear weapons, most of which are many times more powerful than the nuclear weapon dropped on Hiroshima. Thirty-two other states are also part of the problem, with six nations hosting nuclear weapons, and a further 28 endorsing their use."
Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Ukraine surrendered its 1,900 strategic nuclear warheads after the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, whereby Russia and America vowed not to invade—the nukes were returned to Russia.
Dr Patricia Lewis from Chatham House has sounded the alarm on the potential use of nuclear weapons by Russia, asserting: "It was believed that if Russia were to use nuclear weapons it would likely be in Ukraine, using short range, lower yield 'battlefield' nuclear weapons. Russia is thought to have more than 1,000 in reserve. These would have to be taken from storage and either connected to missiles, placed in bombers, or as shells in artillery."
She further highlighted a shift in Moscow's menacing language, noting: "Increasingly the rhetoric from Russia suggests nuclear threats are a more direct threat to NATO – not only Ukraine – and could refer to longer range, higher yield nuclear weapons."
Dr Lewis also pointed out the absence of nuclear posturing from NATO, stating: "There have been no expressed nuclear weapons threats from NATO states. NATO does rely on nuclear weapons as a form of deterrence and recently committed to significantly strengthen its longer-term deterrence and defence posture in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Labour government has repeatedly reiterated its commitment to British nuclear weapons – including before the general election."
Meanwhile, the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics reports that Russian economy is tottering under sanctions, finding itself in an "increasingly precarious state".
Whilst appearing outwardly stable, experts suggest the Russian economy actually masks deep-seated instability, with underlying imbalances and structural weaknesses steadily worsening.
The European Union has enforced 17 rounds of sanctions on Russia since the Ukraine war began in February 2022, primarily targeting Moscow's key revenue streams - oil, gas, and coal exports. Other Western nations, including the US, Canada, the UK, and Japan, have also imposed sanctions.
In an attempt to downplay the effectiveness of Western sanctions, Russia claims its gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.3% in 2024, following a 3.6% expansion in 2023.
Meanwhile, tensions between the East and West continue to escalate, with Donald Trump announcing plans to make the proposed €208 billion Golden Dome missile defence programme "fully operational" by 2029.
This programme aims to develop ground and space-based capabilities to detect and intercept missiles at all stages of a potential attack, including before launch, during the initial stages of flight, mid-course, and in the final minutes before impact.
The Pentagon has long warned that China and Russia's latest missile developments are so advanced that updated countermeasures are necessary. Both nations have deployed offensive space-based assets, such as satellites capable of disabling critical satellites, leaving the US vulnerable to attack.
Last year, the US alleged that Russia was developing a space-based nuclear weapon that could linger above the Earth before releasing a burst to take out surrounding satellites.
Mr Trump, who instructed the Pentagon to develop space-based interceptors via executive order at the start of his presidency, revealed he has not yet discussed Golden Dome with Putin. However, in a joint statement earlier this month, China and Russia described the concept as "deeply destabilising in nature", cautioning it would transform "outer space into an environment for placing weapons and an arena for armed confrontation."