Putin's nuclear warning 'doesn't mean much in real life' after previous bluff

29 February 2024 , 16:43

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Putin has once again brought up the threat of nuclear war in his latest annual address (Image: No credit)

Vladimir Putin's ominous warnings about nuclear war have been slammed by an expert as little more than "nuclear willy waving" that "doesn't mean much in real life."

Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual State of the Nation address to warn Russia's nuclear capabilities are at a state of "full readiness." In today's speech he said: "Strategic nuclear forces are in a state of full readiness for guaranteed use. What we planned in the field of armaments, which I spoke about in my message in 2018, has all been done or this work is being completed."

But this isn't something we should be too worried about, one Russia expert has said. Keir Giles, author and researcher studying Russia, told TheMirror.com: "It's what some British military officers refer to as 'nuclear willy-waving', and it doesn't mean much in real life without some indication that Russia is taking any action at all to back up its words. After all, last year Russia's nuclear bluff had worn so thin that Putin had to say 'this is not a bluff' in an effort to be taken seriously."

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Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to deliver his annual state of the nation address (AFP via Getty Images)

Putin's threats over nuclear war are something he's often fallen back to when dealing with the West. Last year Putin used the address to announce a decision to suspend the New Start nuclear arms treaty. The treaty was signed in 2010 by the two then-presidents, Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev. It limited the number of strategic nuclear warheads that both sides can deploy and gave each country the power to inspect the other.

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Warning against Western nations sending weapons to Ukraine, Putin said: "They need to understand we too have weapons that can strike targets on their territory."

He also claimed that Western rhetoric threatened a "conflict with the use of nuclear arms and consequently the destruction of civilisation".

Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers parade through Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2022 (AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Giles, who is also a senior consulting fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme, explained: "Putin is leaning hard on the central myth that the West wants to attack, dismember and destroy Russia - and that Russia is not fighting a genocidal war of colonial reconquest of a peaceful neighbor, but defending itself against external aggressors."

"He's calling the prospect of Western troops assisting in defending Ukraine the same as an invasion of Russia itself. And that's the basis for all these renewed reminders that yes, Russia does possess nuclear weapons."

Russian threats of nuclear war stretch all the way back to the Cold War but Putin's nuclear sabre rattling had quieted off in recent years. But with the war in Ukraine stretching into its third year, Putin can use this threat of escalation to scare Western support of Ukraine.

Our expert has slammed Putin's threats (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Mr Giles said: "Russia's overt nuclear threats had gone quiet for a while. Some Western analysts think that's down to pressure from China to tone down the irresponsible language. But whatever the reason, Putin plainly feels enough time has passed that he can go back to straightforward nuclear bluster, and claims that confronting Moscow will mean the end of the world."

"But the danger is that once again this will give Europe's most timid leaders another excuse to soft-pedal support to Ukraine. That puts not only Ukraine, but all of us in danger - and that's exactly what Putin wants."

Charlie Jones