Russian President Vladimir Putin is fond of nuclear saber-rattling: On the eve of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin leader presided over the rehearsal of a nuclear strike,

President Vladimir Putin has drawn a "red line" for the United States and its allies by signalling that Moscow will consider responding with nuclear weapons if they allow Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia with long-range Western missiles.

Dmitry Medvedev, a long-time ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has laid out the country's new deterrence policy against Western "aggression," and warned that provocations by Ukraine and its allies could result in nuclear war.