US says Vladimir Putin plans to 'expand and modernise' Russia's nuclear warhead-arsenal

US Defence Secretary Llyod Austin, while speaking at a ceremony on Friday, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his regime was working to “expand and modernise” its nuclear arsenal, which is already notably massive. Speculation has been strife since Putin said that the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons as a deterrence to end the war in Ukraine was not impossible. Fears continue to circulate about a potential nuclear conflict with Russia. 

"The whole world has seen Putin engage in deeply irresponsible nuclear sabre-rattling," said Austin. Putin suggested during a televised address in September that Russia could respond to alleged nuclear "blackmail" from the West with his country's own weapons. "Those who are trying to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the winds can also turn in their direction," Putin said.

Russia's nuclear expansion would inflate an already massive stockpile of nuclear weapons. Russia has the largest number of nuclear weapons in the world, with close to 6,000 warheads, according to experts. Together, Russia and the United States together hold around 90% of the world's nuclear warheads - enough to destroy the planet many times over.

What has Putin said about nuclear weapons?

Putin had earlier said that Russia had no mandate to launch a preventative first nuclear strike but that Russia's advanced weapons would ensure Russia could respond forcefully if it ever came under attack. Putin on September 21 warned the US-led western bloc that he was not bluffing when he said he would be ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia. On September 30, he said the United States had created a precedent by dropping two atomic bombs on Japan in 1945.

Russian officials say the West has repeatedly misinterpreted Kremlin statements. The United States has warned Russia over the consequences of any use of nuclear weapons.

Russian state television personalities, some of whom are also allies of Putin, have repeatedly called on Russia to conduct nuclear strikes on Ukraine and even Western countries. Putin said in October that it wouldn't make sense politically or militarily for Russia to conduct a nuclear strike in Ukraine, and that Russia had only hinted about the use of nuclear weapons "in response to statements made by Western leaders."