President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday that Russia was technically ready for nuclear war and that if the U.S. sent troops to Ukraine it would be considered a significant escalation of the war.

Putin, speaking just days before a March 15-17 election which is certain to give him another six years in power, said the nuclear war scenario was not “rushing” up and he saw no need for the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

“From a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready,” Putin, 71, told Rossiya-1 television and news agency RIA in response to a question whether the country was really ready for a nuclear war.

Putin said the U.S. understood that if it deployed American troops on Russian territory - or to Ukraine - Russia would treat the move as an intervention.

  • DarkThoughts@fedia.io
    221·
    8 months ago

    I wonder if the cold war got this boring and obnoxious too or if that’s more a symptom of our modern & fast communication. Hearing those weekly nuclear threats is nothing but a clown show at this point.

    • girlfreddy@lemmy.caOP
      10·
      8 months ago

      First, I prefer boring vs bombs.

      Secondly yes, the cold war was like this with all the Soviet leaders except Gorbachev.

      • DarkThoughts@fedia.io
        5·
        8 months ago

        It’s just the cold war was always displayed as this phase of fear and uncertainty. However, I just feel tired and annoyed by the constant babbling. Like, when I constantly read those nuclear threats from Russia I don’t shudder and cower, I just roll my eyes and groan.He should either throw the bombs and end civilization or just shut up already. It’s not like anyone could do anything about it either, so why even give a fuck about it?

        • girlfreddy@lemmy.caOP
          4·
          8 months ago

          I get it. It is boring rhetoric and simply shows Putin in a dick-measuring contest with himself.

          But Ukraine cares ‘cause Congress’ power struggle is directly affecting their ability to battle against that fuckwad for their lives and country.

          Maybe Putin made a mistake here tho by (possibly) showing his hand, ie: he may be considering the use of a low yield nuclear weapon in Ukraine and used this “warning” to keep America at bay. This is only a guess tho.

    • whotookkarl@lemmy.world
      4·
      8 months ago

      Bombing drills in schools instead of active shooter drills I think was a big difference domestically. There was a little gap there from around the mid 1990s to the early 2000s without either, but I got to see the tail end of one and then the introduction of the other.

    • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
      64·
      8 months ago

      No Russian leader would have said anything provocative about nukes back then.

    • mods_are_assholes@lemmy.world
      1·
      8 months ago

      As a child of the cold war, yes, it got really tedious except for those moments of existential dread as I laid in bed at night wondering if I would ever wake up or be turned to glowing ash at some point while I slept, and which would be worse.

      • DarkThoughts@fedia.io
        2·
        8 months ago

        Getting directly blasted in your sleep sounds alright to me. Certainly better than a slow and agonizing radiation poisoning death.

        • mods_are_assholes@lemmy.world
          1·
          8 months ago

          At the time we lived within the flash zone of a military base and was likely on a target list somewhere.

          I took strange comfort in that it would be quick.

          That fucked up book ‘When the Wind Blows’ also instilled a deep, persistent fear over that slow death.

          • DarkThoughts@fedia.io
            11·
            8 months ago

            WMDs like this are meant to inflict the most amount of damage possible, so I think nukes would rather target the largest population centers, not so much military targets.

            • mods_are_assholes@lemmy.world
              1·
              8 months ago

              And this is what happens when your perspective on the world is informed by gut feelings and imagination instead of actual historic facts.

              Every known military installation in North America had at least one nuke (most had several) already targeted. After the cold war, Russia shared some of its targeting data and it supports this.

              They weren’t particularly interested in demoralizing the population, their goal was to remove our ability to make war.

              But you are free to go on believing whatever you want, as I am sure you will do whether I mentioned it or not.

              • DarkThoughts@fedia.io
                11·
                8 months ago

                It’s based on literal precedence. lol
                But you are free to rather be a smartass that takes Russia’s word for granted. You know, that one country that also claims to bomb military targets too, yet constantly hits civilians instead.