US after new threats to Putin: “Russia is expanding nuclear arsenal” | Abroad

Russia is expanding and modernizing its nuclear arsenal, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austi said on Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin again suggested on Friday that he will use nuclear weapons to protect Russia.

“Russia is modernizing and expanding their nuclear arsenal,” Austin said today. “And the Kremlin continues its peace, and unprovoked war of choice, the whole world has watched Putin engage in highly irresponsible nuclear displays of force.”

With nearly 6,000 nuclear warheads, Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world, according to experts. Together, Russia and the United States own about 90 percent of the world’s nuclear warheads, enough to completely destroy the planet several times over.

If a country attacks Russia with nuclear weapons, Putin will ensure that it is wiped off the map, he said on Friday. Russia will not launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike, but Russia’s advanced hypersonic weapons will allow Russia to respond vigorously if it is ever attacked, the Russian president said. He has threatened to use nuclear weapons several times since the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

“No bluff”

On September 21, Putin warned the West that he is not boasting about using nuclear weapons to defend Russia. Nine days later, he argued that the US set a precedent when it dropped two atomic bombs on Japan in 1945.

Russian diplomats, however, say the West has misinterpreted the Kremlin’s statements on several occasions.

Russia and the United States are said to have been negotiating their existing NEW START treaty in recent weeks, which limits the number of nuclear warheads either country can deploy. However, on the eve of the meeting, Moscow withdrew. The Kremlin accused the US of anti-Russian behavior and of trying to manipulate the treaty in their favor.

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