On eve of Ukraine war anniversary, Putin talks about boosting nuclear capability

Feb 23 (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said Russia would pay greater attention to boosting its nuclear forces, in a speech to mark Defender of the Fatherland Day on Thursday and a day before the first anniversary of his invasion since Ukraine.

Putin’s comments come after the suspension of a bilateral nuclear arms control treaty with the United States.

“As before, we will pay more attention to strengthening the nuclear triad,” Putin said, referring to land, sea and air nuclear missiles.

Putin said that for the first time, Sarmat ICBMs, a weapon capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads, will be deployed this year.

“We will continue mass production of airborne hypersonic systems and begin mass supply of sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles,” Putin said in a speech from the Kremlin early Thursday.

Russia is due to begin military exercises with China in South Africa on Friday and has sent a frigate equipped with hypersonic missiles.

On the eve of the anniversary of the February 24 invasion of Ukraine, Putin and US President Joe Biden engaged in a verbal confrontation that highlighted global tensions between the two superpowers.

Putin on Tuesday suspended the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) with the United States, accusing the latter of turning the war into a global conflict by arming Ukraine.

During a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday, Biden said the United States and its NATO allies stand for democracy and freedom in Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Biden warned from Warsaw that suspending START was a “big mistake,” but said, “I don’t understand that he’s considering using nuclear weapons or anything like that.”

A senior Russian defense official said Moscow would stick to agreed limits on nuclear missiles and continue to inform the United States of changes to its deployments.

After meeting with leaders of NATO’s eastern flank in Warsaw, Biden pledged the United States would “literally defend every inch of NATO,” the military alliance that includes some eastern European countries that border Russia.

The Kremlin says it sees NATO, which could soon expand to Sweden and Finland, as an existential threat to Russia.

The war in Ukraine, which is the largest land conflict in Europe since World War II, has displaced millions of people, left Ukrainian towns and villages in ruins and disrupted the global economy.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday denounced the Russian invasion as a violation of the UN Charter and international law, and condemned Moscow’s threats regarding the possible use of nuclear weapons.

In two speeches last September, Putin indicated that, if necessary, he would use nuclear weapons to defend Russia.

“We have heard implicit threats to use nuclear weapons. The so-called tactical use of nuclear weapons is completely unacceptable. It is time to take a step back,” said António Guterres.

THE ROLE OF CHINA

On Wednesday, Putin received China’s top foreign official, Wang Yi, at the Kremlin and announced that Chinese leader Xi Jinping would visit Russia, saying relations had reached “new frontiers”.

Xi is expected to deliver a “peace speech” on Friday, but Ukraine says there can be no talk of peace as long as Russian troops occupy its territory.

Washington fears that Beijing will provide material support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

According to TASS news agency, Wang said China “will firmly adhere to an objective and impartial stance and play a constructive role in resolving the crisis politically.”

The relationship between China and Russia, Wang said through an interpreter, is not directed against third parties, but in a clear allusion to the United States, he said that the two countries ” will not succumb to third-party pressures”.

Russia controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine, having suffered three major battlefield setbacks last year in what it describes as a “special military operation” to protect Russian security.

Ukraine and its Western allies called the invasion a land grab by imperialism.

In recent weeks, Russia has launched an offensive in eastern Ukraine, but has made only marginal gains despite heavy losses.

Ukrainian forces have repelled 90 Russian attacks in the northeast and east of the country in the past 24 hours, the military said Thursday.

The Russian army attacked near Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region and around Liman, Bakhmut, Adviika and Shakhtarsk in the Donetsk region, where, according to the Ukrainian army, Russia is concentrating its offensive efforts.

“In Avdiivka, Russian forces stick to their tactic of pressuring one place, not advancing, then raising reserves to try elsewhere,” Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said in comments. published on YouTube.

“It’s only possible because of the number of troops Russia can command. They don’t mind their losses. The idea is to weaken our position, whatever the cost.”

Reuters could not verify the battlefield report.

(Reporting by Reuters bureau; Writing by Grant McCool and Michael Perry; Spanish editing by Flora Gómez)