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.

  • mods_are_assholes@lemmy.world
    1·
    9 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·
      9 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·
        9 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·
          9 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·
            9 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·
              9 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.