You're reading: RFE/RL: Putin says Russia rules out launching preemptive nuclear strikes

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his country will only use its nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear attack on the country.

Putin ruled out any “preemptive nuclear strikes” at an international policy forum in Sochi on October 18, and said Moscow would only use nuclear weapons defensively if early warning systems spotted nuclear missiles heading toward Russia.

Read more here.