At a meeting of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the threat of nuclear warfare is on the rise. 

At the meeting, the President was asked by Sveltana Makovestkaya, member of the Human Rights Council, about the threat of nuclear war to which Putin responded, "As for the threat of nuclear war, Svetlana Gennadyevna, you are right. Such a threat is growing, to be honest."

The head of state added that Russia is ready to employ all available resources to defend itself in the face of foreign threats, adding that some countries of the West regard Russia as "a second-rate country that simply has no rights to exist at all."

"When we are struck, we strike back," Putin said in reference to the policy of "retaliatory strike" - meaning that Russia's nuclear weapons serve as a tool of deterrence in the special military operation.

Updates on Russia's special operation in Ukraine

Touching on the war in Ukraine, Putin said there are currently 150,000 out of 300,000 in the zone of the special operation, of which only 77,000 are in combat units.

The remaining are in the territorial defense forces, the President added.

“Out of 300,000 of our mobilized fighters, men, our defenders of the Fatherland, 150,000 are in the zone of the operation, that is, half, in the troops, are in the group. Of these 150,000 in the grouping, only half — this is 77,000, are directly in combat units, the rest are on the second or third lines, essentially performing the functions of territorial defense troops, or are undergoing additional training in the operation zone," Putin said, adding that talks about supplementary mobilization in Russia do not make sense. 

"As for the results of the special military operation, some of them may manifest themselves only after a long while. New territories have appeared. This is a significant result for Russia. These are serious questions. Take the Sea of Azov, which has become Russia’s inland sea. That’s very serious," he added, making reference to Peter the Great when he gained access to the Sea of Azov.

Read more: Pentagon: Russia made no decisions to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine

But above all, what matters the most is the people who live in all these territories, the Russian leader stressed.

"The results of the referendum showed that the people want to be in Russia and consider themselves part of this world, part of this space, and our common culture, traditions, and language. This is the most important result. Now they are with us. There millions of such people. This is the most important thing," he said.

War crimes by Ukraine

He then proceeded to say that Ukraine shoot their soldiers when they attempted to flee, something Russia has never carried out. 

"As for leaving positions in Ukraine, you know, they are shot on the spot. Moreover, they even carry out mass executions, directly and publicly in front of the line. Or without it. But this is well known to everyone, this is no secret. We not only have nothing of the kind, we don’t even have any camps, prisons, and so on, this is all nonsense, these are fakes that have no basis," he said.

Western doctrine on human rights

Speaking on matters related to the Western doctrine on human rights, Putin said that it was deliberately being weaponized by the West to destroy the sovereignty of states and justify western political, financial, economic, and ideological domination.

He further said the real motive of Western human rights organizations is to influence the policies of Russia. 

"On our part, there can be only one answer: systematic struggle for our national interests. We will continue to act this way. May everybody stop thinking it can be otherwise. Yes, we will be doing this using various ways and means. First of all, of course, we will focus on peaceful means. But, if there is nothing else left, we will defend ourselves with all resources at our disposal," Putin said.

He added that international organizations are now required to recalibrate their approaches since they have been instrumented in the means of fulfilling Western aspirations. 

Addressing the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, Putin called on delegates to work persistently and boldly to raise the problems that concern human rights and to achieve crucial targets.

"Times are really difficult, and your opinion, your position, your public speeches and statements must of course be balanced and work to unite society. As a matter of fact, that's how it is," he said.

Commemorating victims of political repression 

With regard to the commemoration of victims of political repression, Putin said historical facts cannot be overlooked and can never be allowed to be used against Russia.

"As far as the commemoration of victims of political repression is concerned, we must not forget about this work in any case," he said, adding "it is a challenging, painful page in history."

"History is what it is. Nothing can be silenced here. Nothing can be allowed to be used as a tool in the fight against Russia, especially nowadays," Putin emphasized.

Read more: Peace talks will hinge on proposal considerate of Moscow's interests