Putin: US Wouldn’t Rescue Allies in Nuclear War

If European NATO members provoke Moscow into a nuclear response, the US might stay on the sidelines, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated.

At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday, Putin addressed a question about the increasingly aggressive rhetoric from some European capitals, which moderator Sergey Karaganov likened to the baying of hyenas.

“The Europeans have to consider: if those we exchange [nuclear] blows with are obliterated, would the Americans engage in such an exchange, at the level of strategic weapons, or not? I very much doubt it,” Putin responded.

Putin explained that while both the US and Russia have well-developed early warning systems for detecting incoming missiles, European NATO members do not. “In this sense, they are more or less defenseless,” he said. Additionally, Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons are “three to four times more powerful than the bombs the Americans used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” and Russia possesses many more of these weapons both on the European continent and in reserve, even if the US brings its own from across the Atlantic. Such a war would result in “infinite casualties,” Putin warned.

While not ruling out changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, Putin told the audience that it currently permits the use of nuclear weapons only in the case of threats to the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is not currently the case. He added that there is no need to discuss nuclear escalation, given the effectiveness and superior capability of the Russian military and defense industry in comparison to its adversaries in terms of armor and air power.

The US and its allies have been supplying weapons, ammunition, and equipment to Ukraine over the past two years while insisting they aim to inflict “a strategic defeat” on Russia without being a party to the conflict. Recently, Washington, London, and other NATO members announced they are lifting restrictions on Kiev’s use of their weapons against Russia, prompting calls for Moscow to retaliate.

Last month, citing the need to send a message to the West, the Kremlin ordered military drills involving non-strategic nuclear weapons in the district bordering Ukraine.