Is this warning to the Ukraine or to the USA???

 Russian Official Issues Nuclear Weapons Warning After Historic Achievement

Story by Nick Mordowanec • 8h  NEWSWEEK  

A high-ranking Russian official is touting his nation's nuclear arsenal as the world's best.

Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia's Security Council, said during a recent appearance at the Znanie (Knowledge) education expo in Moscow that his nation for the first time has surpassed all other countries in terms of nuclear proficiency.

Patrushev, former director of the Federal Security Service and a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin since the 1970s, has been rumored to be a possible successor to Putin. Patrushev worked with Putin at the KGB and has been steadfast in supporting Russia's war in Ukraine since the February 2022 invasion.

"For the first time in the history of the existence of nuclear missile weapons, our country is ahead of its competitors in this [nuclear] domain," Patrushev said at the Znanie expo, according to the state-owned RT television channel.

He reportedly alluded to his country's "unique strategic weapons, including hypersonic ones," predicting that this "will guarantee Russia's security for many decades."

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry via email for comment.

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