Putin says Russia was ready to bring out nukes over Crimea

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."

Russia annexed Crimea last March after a disputed referendum. Last week, a preview clip of the documentary showed Putin saying he planned to seize Crimea about a month before the referendum.

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