Orient Net, Mar 2, 2018— The US State Department accused Russia on Thursday (March 1) of developing destabilizing nuclear weapons in violation of its treaty obligations after Russia’s Putin delivered a speech unveiling a new array of nuclear weapons.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Putin’s speech showed Russia had violated its obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty. She also criticized an animated video played during his remarks, saying it appeared to depict an attack on the United States.

Putin announced an array of new nuclear weapons on Thursday, in one of his most bellicose speeches in years, saying they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a US-built missile shield.

Putin was speaking ahead of an election on March 18 that polls indicate he should win easily. He said a nuclear attack on any of Moscow’s allies would be regarded as an attack on Russia itself and draw an immediate response.

It was unclear if he had a particular Russian ally, such as Syria, in mind, but his comments looked like a warning to Washington not to use tactical battlefield nuclear weapons.

His remarks were greeted with skepticism in Washington, where officials cast doubt on whether Russia has added any new capabilities to its nuclear arsenal beyond those already known to the US military and intelligence agencies.