Putin casts war in Ukraine as a battle for Russia's survival

Russian President Vladimir Putin formed the confrontation with the West implicit the Ukraine warfare arsenic an existential conflict for the endurance of Russia and the Russian radical — and said helium was forced to instrumentality into relationship NATO's atomic capabilities.

A twelvemonth since ordering the penetration of Ukraine, Putin is progressively presenting the warfare arsenic a make-or-break infinitesimal successful Russian past — and saying that helium believes the precise aboriginal of Russia and its radical is successful peril.

"They person 1 goal: to disband the erstwhile Soviet Union and its cardinal portion — the Russian Federation," Putin told Rossiya 1 authorities tv successful an interrogation recorded connected Wednesday but released connected Sunday.

NATO and the West disregard specified a narrative, saying their nonsubjective is to assistance Ukraine support itself against an unprovoked attack.

Putin said the West wanted to disagreement up Russia and past power the world's biggest shaper of earthy materials, a step, helium said, that could good pb to the demolition of galore of the peoples of Russia including the taste Russian majority.

"I bash not adjacent cognize if specified an taste radical arsenic the Russian radical volition beryllium capable to past successful the signifier successful which it exists today," Putin said. He said the West's plans had been enactment to paper, though did not specify where.

The United States has denied that it wants to destruct Russia, portion President Joe Biden has warned that a struggle betwixt Russia and NATO could trigger World War Three, though helium has besides said Putin should not stay successful power.

Putin said the tens of billions of dollars worthy of U.S. and European subject assistance to Ukraine showed that Russia was present facing disconnected against NATO itself — the Cold War nightmare of some Soviet and Western leaders.

Ukraine says it volition not remainder until each past Russian worker is ejected from Ukraine, including from Crimea which Russia annexed successful 2014.

Putin's existential framing of the warfare allows the 70-year-old Kremlin main to gird the Russian radical for a overmuch deeper struggle portion it besides allows him overmuch greater state successful the types of weapons helium could 1 time use.

Russia's authoritative atomic doctrine allows for the usage of atomic weapons if they — oregon different types of weapons of wide demolition — are utilized against it, oregon if accepted weapons are used, which endanger "the precise beingness of the state."

Putin has signaled helium is acceptable to rip up the architecture of atomic arms power - including the large powers' moratorium connected atomic investigating — unless the West backs disconnected successful Ukraine.

On Tuesday, helium sought to underscore Russian resoluteness successful Ukraine by suspending a landmark atomic arms power treaty, announcing caller strategical systems had been enactment connected combat work and informing that Moscow could resume atomic tests.

Putin said Russia would lone resume treatment once French and British atomic weapons were besides taken into account.

Russia, which inherited the Soviet Union's atomic weapons, has the world's biggest store of atomic warheads. It has much warheads than the United States, France and Britain combined, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

"In today's conditions, erstwhile each the starring NATO countries person declared their main extremity arsenic inflicting a strategical decision connected america truthful that our radical endure arsenic they say, however tin we disregard their atomic capabilities successful these conditions?" Putin said.

Putin said the biggest effect of the past twelvemonth was the unity of the Russian people.