Putin denies Western accusations of nuclear saber-rattling
Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the country’s nuclear arsenals as a deterrent factor in the Ukrainian conflict but demurred when challenged to make a pledge that Russia would not be the first to use them MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday described the country’s nuclear arsenals as a deterrent factor in the Ukrainian conflict but demurred when challenged to make a pledge that Russia would not be the first to use them. Asked by a member of the presidential Human Rights Council to commit Russia to forswearing a first strike, Putin responded that such an obligation might prevent Russia from tapping its nuclear arsenal even if it came under a nuclear attack. “If it doesn’t use it first under any circumstances, it means that it won’t be the second to use it either, because the possibility of using it in case of a nuclear strike on our territory will be sharply limited,” Putin said. He noted that Russia’s nuclear doctrine was based on the so-called “la...