Putin likes to wave his nuclear stick, but he no longer does so with any confidence - Piontkovsky

He said this on Espreso TV. 

“Putin likes to wave his nuclear stick, but he is waving it very uncertainly. He has said that Russia is not withdrawing from the treaty, only suspending it temporarily. And the same Ryabkov emphasized: we will not build up our potential. They will not build it up for two reasons. Firstly, they don't have the resources. It is symbolic, by the way, that on the day Biden visited Kyiv, they wanted to conduct a demonstration test of the Sarmat missile, which is the most threatened missile. This test failed. And secondly, it makes no sense. Each country has 1,500 warheads and is ready to destroy each other 10 times over, so it's just words,” Piontkovsky explained.

According to the political scientist, Putin's second heroic promise was even more fraudulent.

“He is being pressured by his party to conduct nuclear tests and to detonate nuclear charges over the entire NATO. There is a vice president of some geopolitical academy in Russia, his name is Suchkov, I think. He appears on the screen every day and demands an immediate nuclear strike on Yellowstone National Park in the United States. According to his information, somewhere there is a major fault in continental North America, and thus it is possible to blow up North America. This is being seriously discussed and is a symptom of insanity. Putin was going to meet this fascist call, and indeed, every time he mentioned nuclear weapons, there was a reaction in the hall: everyone stood up and applauded, but not a single person understood what was happening,” Piontkovsky said.

The political scientist also added that Putin made a statement of refusal, that they would never conduct nuclear tests and would not withdraw from the New START. 

“These are completely new motives, it's not nuclear blackmail anymore, it's a wink to the West. It's as if he's saying don't pay attention, I'm just scaring my population. But in fact, look: I'm not withdrawing from the treaty, I'm not increasing the number of missiles, I'm not going to test anything, and I'm quite capable of complying with the treaties. Comrade Yi from Comrade Xi has come to see me, and we are discussing a plan for a peaceful settlement. Let me calmly get out of this situation,” Piontkovsky emphasized.

• On February 21, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin delivered a message to the Federal Assembly and announced that Russia had decided to suspend its participation in New START. He also ordered the Russian military to prepare for nuclear weapons tests. The Russian president also did not rule out that he could expand the war if Ukraine is supplied with long-range weapons.

• Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's address to the Russian Federal Assembly did not articulate specific goals or intentions regarding the war in Ukraine, but he reinforced several long-standing rhetorical lines aimed at buying more space and time for a protracted war.