Russia is “ready” for nuclear war from a technical perspective but not “rushing to it”, Vladimir Putin has said in a new interview with two Russian state media outlets.
He also threatened to deploy troops and “systems of destruction” to Russia’s border with Finland once the country completes the process of joining Nato.
The comments came as Ukraine launched drone attacks on several Russian regions for the second night in a row, causing damage to a gas supply line and cutting off power to some villages in the Belgorod region.
Yesterday two Ukraine-based armed militia groups claimed responsibility for major cross-border raids that sparked panic in Russia’s Belgorod and Kursk regions over a period of several hours.
Russia claimed the “terrorist formations” were backed by tanks and armoured combat vehicles, while Ukraine said its military was not directly involved in the operations.
“We will take our land from the [Putin] regime centimetre by centimetre,” the Freedom of Russia Legion said in a Telegram post.