Putin says he is ready to use nuclear weapons if the Russian state is at stake, but “there will never be a need”.

(CNN) — Moscow is ready to use nuclear weapons if the existence of the Russian state is threatened, but “there has never been such a need,” President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with state media published Wednesday.

The Russian leader made the comments to state media Rossiya 1 and RIA Novosti ahead of the March 15 presidential election, in which he is widely expected to win a fifth term in office, and his full-scale war in Ukraine enters his third year. .

Putin said that from a military and technological point of view, Russia was ready for nuclear war, although he did not say it was imminent.

He warned that Russia would consider them interventionists if US troops were deployed in Ukraine.

“Apart from (US President Joe) Biden, there are enough other experts in the field of Russian-US relations and strategic control. So I don’t think everything will collide here, but we are ready for it.” Putin said.

Putin said the United States is also developing nuclear forces, but that does not mean they are “ready to start a nuclear war tomorrow.”

“They are setting tasks to increase this modernity, innovation, they have a corresponding plan. We also know about it. They are developing all its elements. We are too,” Putin said.

“Weapons exist to be used. We have our own principles.”

Earlier this month, two senior US administration officials told CNN that as late as 2022, the United States had begun “aggressively preparing” for Russia to launch a possible nuclear attack on Ukraine.

The Biden administration was particularly concerned that Russia might use a strategic or battlefield nuclear weapon, the officials said.

Last year, Putin deployed strategic nuclear weapons to neighboring ally Belarus, and Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and vice-chairman of the Russian Security Council, said strategic nuclear weapons could be used to defend territories annexed by Russia from Ukraine.

Speaking to Russian state media, Putin said the West thought they could “finish” Russia at the start of its invasion of Ukraine, but instead claimed Moscow’s financial and economic systems were stable and the capabilities of its forces were only increasing. is .

NATO intelligence estimates of Russian defense production suggest that Russia appears to be on track to produce about three times more artillery warheads than the United States and Europe, a major advantage ahead of what is expected to be another Russian invasion of Ukraine later this year. It is also operating ordnance factories “24/7” in 12-hour shifts, a NATO official said.

However, US and Western officials say, Russia’s surge is still not enough to meet its needs, and Western intelligence officials do not expect Russia to make major gains on the battlefield anytime soon.

Meanwhile, Ukraine desperately needs American aid for arms and ammunition, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says “millions” of people could die without it.

The Biden administration announced a second military aid package to Ukraine of up to $300 million on Tuesday, but Biden said it was “not nearly enough” and that Congress needed to approve additional funding.

In his interview with state media, Putin said that Russia would be ready to negotiate on Ukraine, but only if it was based on reality.

“Are we ready to negotiate? Yes, we are ready, but only ready to negotiate, not based on some wishes after the use of psychotropic drugs, but based on developed realities, as they say in such cases, on the ground .” Putin said.

Asked if a “fair deal” could be reached with the West, he said: “I don’t believe anyone, but we want guarantees.”

Zelensky has previously rejected suggestions that it is time to negotiate peace with the Kremlin and has repeatedly said he will not leave Ukrainian territory.

“When you want to commit or communicate with someone, you can’t do that with a liar,” he told CNN in September.