President Vladimir Putin said Russia would focus more on boosting its nuclear forces in an address on Thursday, a day before the Defender of the Fatherland public holiday and the first anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine.
Putin’s comments came after the suspension of a bilateral nuclear arms control treaty with the United States. “As before, we will pay more attention to strengthening the nuclear triad,” Putin said, referring to land, sea, and air-based nuclear missiles.
Putin said that for the first time, the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile — a weapon capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads — would be deployed this year. “We will continue mass production of airborne hypersonic Kinzal systems and begin mass deliveries of sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles,” Putin said in remarks released by the Kremlin early Thursday.
Russia is due to start military drills with China in South Africa on Friday and has sent a frigate equipped with hypersonic missiles. On the eve of the February 24 anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, Putin and US President Joe Biden sparred verbally, highlighting global tensions between the superpowers. Putin on Tuesday suspended the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) with the United States, accusing it of turning the war into a global conflict by arming Ukraine.
In Warsaw on Wednesday, Biden warned that the suspension of START was a “big mistake,” but said, “I didn’t read that he’s thinking about using nuclear weapons or anything like that.” A senior Russian defence official said Moscow would stick to agreed limits on nuclear missiles and keep the United States informed about changes in their deployment.
After meeting leaders of the eastern part of NATO in Warsaw, Biden promised that the United States would “protect every inch of NATO,” the military alliance that includes some eastern European countries bordering Russia. The Kremlin says it considers NATO, which may soon expand to include Sweden and Finland, a potential threat to Russia.
The Ukraine War, the largest land conflict in Europe since World War II, has displaced millions of people,
