The Kremlin has had little success invoking its nuclear arsenal to deter Ukraine and the West from using new tactics to stop Russia’s invasion. That may be changing.

The Russian president earlier this year rebuffed Defense Ministry officials who had tried to convince him they needed more soldiers.

A close ally of President Vladimir Putin warned Western governments on Thursday that a nuclear war would ensue if they gave the green light for Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the Russian military received around 140,000 drones in 2023 and that Moscow plans to increase this number tenfold in 2024.

Vyacheslav Volodin, a close Putin ally, warned Western governments of nuclear war if Ukraine is allowed to use long-range weapons against Russia. This follows a European Parliament vote urging EU countries to provide these weapons to Kyiv.

On Wednesday, the Kremlin condemned comments by outgoing NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg as “dangerous”, Reuters reports. Stoltenberg had suggested that allowing Ukraine to use Western long-range missiles to strike Russian territory would not trigger an escalation from Moscow.