Vladimir Putin, speaking in a prerecorded documentary about the Russian seizure of Crimea, said he was prepared to put Russia's nuclear weapons on alert during tensions over the crisis in Ukraine and Crimea. Putin said in the documentary that he was "ready to do this," when asked if the nation's nuclear forces could be put on standby.He said in the film he was not sure if the West would try to stop the Crimean takeover but he was ready for "the worst possible turn of events."
Putin added that he received many calls from foreign leaders telling him to stop Russian actions in Crimea but he told them it was "our historical territory," that Russians living there "were in danger and we cannot abandon them."
Putin said because his reply was so "frank and open" no country "was in the mood to start a world war."
In the documentary, Putin accused the U.S. of being "puppeteers" behind what he described as a coup against Yanukovych. He said, "Formally, the opposition was primarily supported by Europeans, but we knew very well… that the real puppeteers were our American partners and friends. It was they who helped prepare nationalists [and] combat troops."