Sochi (Russia) – Russians will “go to heaven” as martyrs in the event ofnuclear war because Moscow will only ever use nuclear weapons inretaliation, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
“We have no concept of a preemptive strike,” Putin told a forum ofinternational experts in the southern city of Sochi in response to aquestion from the audience.
“In such a situation, we expect to be struck by nuclear weapons, but wewill not use them” first, he said.
“The aggressor will have to understand that retaliation is inevitable, thatit will be destroyed and that we, as victims of aggression, as martyrs,will go to heaven.
“They will simply die because they won’t even have time to repent,” he saidto some laughter from the audience.
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Putin last year unveiled “invincible” new weapons that would render Westernmissile defence systems obsolete.
In 2016 he called for the country to reinforce its military nuclearpotential. – APP/AFP
