By Galina Korol | 2024-03-21

KYIV -- In the days before his sham reelection, Russian President Vladimir Putin again invoked the specter of nuclear war.

Putin and his regime have repeatedly threatened Ukraine and the West with talk of the Russian nuclear arsenal since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Putin sat for an interview with Dmitry Kiselev, general director of the pro-Kremlin RIA Novosti news agency. The Kremlin website published it March 13.

The election, which outside observers blasted as neither free nor fair, took place March 15–17.

When Kiselev asked, "Are we really ready for a nuclear war?" Putin replied, "We are certainly ready. They [the troops] are constantly in combat readiness. This is the first thing. Secondly. Our nuclear triad is more advanced than any other."

Russia is prepared to use any weapon, even nuclear arms, if the state's very existence or its sovereignty and independence are in jeopardy, he said.

Analysts see a familiar brew of motives behind Putin's latest attempt at global intimidation.

"[Putin] is backed into a corner," said Vadym Triukhan, a Ukrainian diplomat and international lawyer.

"There's no turning back for him, and he believes that either he can be the victor [in Ukraine] or he'll be torn apart by his own, or he'll simply have to shoot himself," said Triukhan.

In the more than two years since invading Ukraine, Putin has cited potential use of nuclear weapons on at least 10 occasions, Voice of America reported March 13.

The first was on February 24, 2022, the day of the invasion. The most recent so far was the interview with Kiselev.

Does Putin need to negotiate?

Putin's latest outburst is primarily meant to intimidate Ukraine's allies, said Volodymyr Fesenko, a Ukrainian political scientist and director of the Penta Center for Political Studies.

"He gives us constant reminders -- 'don't try to defeat us, because we have nuclear weapons,'" Fesenko told Kontur.

In the same interview, Putin was deceitful when it came to negotiations over Ukraine, say analysts. Indeed, he touched on the potential for talks.

"We are ready for talks based on the realities that have developed ... I don't trust anyone, but we need guarantees that we will believe," Putin said.

Putin clearly wants talks with the United States to extricate himself from the war in Ukraine, said Triukhan.

"Russia has entered what can be characterized as an offensive phase in order to prepare for negotiations. What's more, it wants to negotiate with the Americans, not with Ukraine," he said.

Putin wants talks with Washington, agreed Fesenko.

However, Putin is missing something obvious, he said.

"The United States constantly emphasizes that the war cannot end without Ukraine's consent," said Fesenko.

Hostilities on Russian territory

In the interview, Putin did address the flimsy security of Russian regions bordering Ukraine.

An estimated 97% of the Russian army is fighting in Ukraine, according to studies from 2023, meaning that few troops remain to guard actual Russian territory.

Putin's foes have taken note.

On March 13, three Russian pro-Kyiv fighting forces issued a joint statement announcing attacks on Russian army positions in Belgorod and Kursk.

In his interview with Kiselev, Putin denied the border breach and played down recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia's vital oil industry as attempts to disrupt the March 15-17 election and to score propaganda points.

"These events certainly spoil Putin's beautiful propaganda picture, that everything is under control and Russia is winning... meanwhile, there's fighting in the Belgorod and Kursk regions," said Fesenko.

In the interview by Kiselev, Putin for the first time characterized combat inside Russia as a Ukrainian bid for "leverage" in future negotiations, he said.

However, Putin forgot something, said Fesenko:

"It isn't Ukraine that is fighting in the Belgorod and Kursk regions. Russian citizens with anti-Putin views are fighting there," said Fesenko.