ADVERTISEMENT

       President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if there is a threat to its statehood, sovereignty or independence, voicing hope that the US would refrain from actions that could trigger a nuclear conflict.

       Putin's statement was another blunt warning to the West ahead of a presidential vote this week in which he's all but certain to win another six-year term.

       In an interview with Russian state television released early Wednesday, Putin described US President Joe Biden as a veteran politician who fully understands possible dangers of escalation, and said that he doesn't think that the world is heading to a nuclear war.

       At the same time, he emphasised that Russia's nuclear forces are in full readiness and "from the military-technical viewpoint, we're prepared."

       Putin said that in line with the country's security doctrine, Moscow is ready to use nuclear weapons in case of a threat to "the existence of the Russian state, our sovereignty and independence."

       The Russian leader has repeatedly talked about his readiness to use nuclear weapons since launching the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The most recent such threat came in his state-of-the-nation address last month, when he warned the West that deepening its involvement in the fighting in Ukraine would risk a nuclear war.

       Asked in the interview if he has ever considered using battlefield nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Putin responded that there has been no need for that.

       He also voiced confidence that Moscow will achieve its goals in Ukraine and issued a blunt warning to Western allies, declaring that "the nations that say they have no red lines regarding Russia should realise that Russia won't have any red lines regarding them either."

       He held the door open for talks, but emphasised that Russia will hold onto its gains and would seek firm guarantees from the West.

       "It shouldn't be a break for the enemy to rearm but a serious talk involving the guarantees of security for the Russian Federation," he said.

       Putin said that a recent spike in Ukrainian drone attacks deep inside Russia is part of efforts to derail the country's three-day presidential election, which starts Friday and which he is set to win by a landslide, relying on the tight control over Russia's political scene he has established during his 24-year rule.

       An apartment building is seen destroyed by a Russian attack in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. AP/Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP

       Russian authorities reported another major attack by Ukrainian drones early Wednesday. The Defence Ministry said air defences downed 58 drones over six regions. One of the drones hit an oil refinery in the Ryazan region, injuring at least two people and sparking a fire. Another drone was downed as it was approaching a refinery near St. Petersburg.

       Ukraine, meanwhile, reported more Russian attacks early Wednesday.

       A Russian strike killed two people and injured another five in the town of Myrnohrad in the eastern region of Donetsk, about 30 kilometres from the front line, according to Gov. Vadym Filashkin. Local rescuers managed to pull a 13-year-old girl out of the rubble of an apartment building that was hit by a Russian missile.

       A five-storey building in the northern city of Sumy was struck by a drone launched from Russia overnight and 10 people were rescued from the rubble, including eight who sustained injuries, according to the regional administration.

       Meanwhile, in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, the death toll from a Russian missile attack the previous night rose to four.

       Governor Serhii Lysak said that 43 people were wounded in Kryvyi Rih, including 12 children, the youngest of them two years and eleven months old.

       "Every day our cities and villages suffer similar attacks. Every day Ukraine loses people because of Russian evil," Zelenskyy said.

       ADVERTISEMENT

       The attack on Leonid Volkov in Vilnius on 12 March was likely a Russian-organised and implemented operation, Lithuania's State Security Department claimed on local television.

       The organisation said it was aimed at stopping Volkov’s projects in connection with the forthcoming undemocratic Russian presidential elections.

       Leonid Volkov, a top ally and strategist of Alexey Navalny, was reportedly assaulted near his home in Vilnius.

       According to Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmish, an assailant smashed through a window of Volkov's car and sprayed tear gas into his eyes before hitting him with a hammer.

       Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's Foreign Minister, called the attack "shocking" on X.

       The attack in Vilnius comes nearly a month after Navalny was pronounced dead in a remote Artic penal colony.

       The fierce critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin was there serving a 19-year prison term on charges of extremism. The cause of his death has been widely contested, with opposition figures and many international leaders blaming the Kremlin.

       Putin and his government have denied any involvement.

       Volkov was previously in charge of Navalny's regional offices and election campaigns when Navalny ran for mayor of Moscow in 2013. He left Russia several years ago under increasing pressure.

       He also launched a project called "Navalny's Campaigning Machine" aiming to talk to as many Russians as possible in order to turn them against Putin for the upcoming presidential election.

       ADVERTISEMENT

       President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump clinched their parties’ presidential nominations Tuesday with decisive victories in a slate of low-profile primaries.

       The outcome of contests across Georgia, Mississippi and Washington State was never in doubt.

       Neither Biden, a Democrat, nor Trump, a Republican, faced major opposition.

       Donald Trump speaks rallies support in Rome, Georgia Mike Stewart/AP

       But the magnitude of their wins gave each man the delegate majority he needed to claim his party’s nomination at the summertime national conventions.

       Not even halfway through the presidential primary calendar, Tuesday marked a crystalizing moment for a nation uneasy with its choices in 2024.

       There is no longer any doubt that the fall election will feature a rematch between two flawed and unpopular presidents.

       At 81, Biden is already the oldest president in US history, while the 77-year-old Trump is facing decades in prison as a defendant in four criminal cases.

       Their rematch — the first featuring two US presidents since 1912 — will almost certainly deepen the nation’s searing political and cultural divides over the eight-month grind that lies ahead.

       In a statement, Biden celebrated the nomination while casting Trump as a serious threat to democracy.

       Trump, Biden said, “is running a campaign of resentment, revenge, and retribution that threatens the very idea of America.”

       He continued, “I am honoured that the broad coalition of voters representing the rich diversity of the Democratic Party across the country have put their faith in me once again to lead our party — and our country — in a moment when the threat Trump poses is greater than ever.”

       On the eve of Tuesday’s primaries, Trump acknowledged that Biden would be the Democratic nominee, even as seized on the president’s age.

       “I assume he’s going to be the candidate,” Trump said of Biden on CNBC. “I’m his only opponent other than life, life itself.”

       Both candidates dominated Tuesday’s primaries in swing-state Georgia, deep-red Mississippi and Democratic-leaning Washington. Voting was taking place later in Hawaii’s Republican caucus.

       Despite their tough talk, the road ahead will not be easy for either presumptive nominee.