Putin says Russia was ready to bring out nukes over Crimea

Vladimir Putin
(Image credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he was willing to ready Moscow's nuclear arsenal as a last resort in the conflict over the annexation of Crimea.

"We were ready to do it," Putin said in a documentary that aired Sunday on Russian TV. "I talked with colleagues and told them that [Crimea] is our historic territory, Russian people live there, they are in danger, we cannot leave them."

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.