Nuclear arms race fears after West stalls

VLADIMIR Putin has restarted a nuclear arms race because of his "blackmail” during the conflict in Ukraine, a leading Russian expert has warned.

Fiona Hill, an ex-White House intelligence adviser, said because Nato has not directly intervened in the war over fears of a nuclear confrontation, some countries are questioning whether they can rely on the nuclear umbrella provided by key western allies.

The Russian leader has threatened to use tactical nuclear weapons in response to perceived Western provocation.

And Russia yesterday said it will deploy its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, also known as Satan-2 and capable of carrying more than 10 nuclear warheads, by the autumn. It test-launched the missile last week.