“It’s not a bluff”. The words are from Vladimir Putin, on September 21. He then promises to use “all the means at his disposal” if the territorial integrity of his country is threatened. One wonders then: will the annexed territories in Ukraine be concerned? The vagueness is skilfully maintained by the master of the Kremlin, and feeds a whole host of questions about the state of deterrence, on the Western side, and the procedure to follow in the event of a Russian nuclear attack.
The opportunity to recall that this threat is not so old, on the scale of history. The ability of some countries to be able to destroy others in a few seconds has not yet celebrated its hundredth birthday. In the meantime, L’Express recounts in images this nuclear epic, essential for understanding the springs of a latent threat, which Vladimir Putin has been recalling to our memory for several months.