President Vladimir Putin of Russia has warned that the risk of nuclear war is growing and claimed that Russia has the most advanced nuclear weapons in the world.

In his most recent terrifying remarks about the possibility of nuclear war, Mr. Putin stated that Russia would retaliate against any such threats.

However, he believed that the arsenal would serve as a deterrence and stressed that "we would not parade these weapons around the world like a razor"

He addressed a meeting at the Kremlin, "We have not gone insane."

"We are familiar with nuclear weapons. Evidently, we possess these capabilities in a more advanced and modern form than any other nuclear nation."

Mr. Putin was addressing the Human Rights Council of Russia.

"You are correct, the prospect of nuclear war is growing," he stated.

"If it's true that Russia would never be the first to use such weapons, then we wouldn't be able to use them either, as the likelihood of doing so in the event of an assault on our territory would be extremely remote."

Mr. Putin stated that Russia had a strategy "specifically as a defense."

We consider weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons based on the so-called retaliatory strike, i.e. when we are attacked, we strike back.

"This is a deterrent that does not stimulate the expansion of conflicts, but a deterrence, and I hope everyone understands this," he explained.

The long war

Mr. Putin has also recognized that his invasion of Ukraine is taking longer than anticipated and that his forces may be engaged in a protracted conflict.

Wednesday during a televised meeting with followers, he stated, "This might be a lengthy process."

He stated that approximately 150,000 of the 300,000 reservists called up in September and October were deployed in Ukraine, with 77,000 serving in combat formations.

The remaining 150,000 individuals remained in training centers.

Despite recent combat setbacks, including the loss of Kherson, the only Ukrainian provincial capital Russia gained, Mr. Putin has stated that he has no remorse about initiating Europe's most destructive conflict since World War II.

He stated that Russia had already accomplished a "big success" with the acquisition of "new territory," referring to the unlawful annexation of four partially occupied regions in September, which Ukraine and the majority of United Nations members condemned as illegal.

Russian forces have fired more than a thousand rockets and missiles against the Ukrainian electricity grid, which is still operational despite suffering severe damage, according to the Interfax Ukraine news agency, quoting Ukrenergo's chief executive officer Volodymyr Kudrytsky.

Eight recent waves of Russian air attacks have severely damaged the grid and caused emergency and planned outages across the country, including the three million-person capital city of Kyiv.

Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko warned of a "pocalyptic" winter without electricity, running water, or heat if Russian air strikes against infrastructure continue. He stated that locals do not need to evacuate at this time, though they should be prepared to do so.

Mr. Klitschko warned Reuters that Kyiv might be left without central heating at a time when temperatures could drop as low as -15 degrees.