Vladimir Putin's nuclear threat 'real, not just…': Russian politician's warning

Russia-Ukraine War: Vladimir Putin has earlier claimed- several times- that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons amid Ukraine invasion.

Vladimir Putin's nuclear threat is "real and not just words", a Russian opposition politician warned. Grigory Yavlinsky has been a longtime critic of the Russian president's regime.

Russia-Ukraine War: Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen. (Reuters)

He asserted that Russia could use it's nuclear capabilities against Ukraine if they were to try and recapture Crimea, saying as per Newsweek, "I think that [Putin's] nuclear threat is a real threat. That kind of weapon is such a serious thing...this is not [just] words, this is a real factor, which you have to take into consideration in the current situation. That's it."

Vladimir Putin has earlier claimed- several times- that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons amid Ukraine invasion as Moscow had to "take into account" the weapons possessed by the United States along with its NATO allies.

“In today’s conditions, when all the leading NATO countries have declared their main goal to inflict a strategic defeat on us, to make our people suffer... how can we not take into account their nuclear capabilities? Moreover, they supply weapons to Ukraine worth tens of billions of dollars,” Vladimir Putin said.

The Russian president added that the West's "one goal" was to "disband the former Soviet Union" and its "fundamental part" of the Russian Federation.