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My very best wishes, I fail to see in what you posted above any logic,let alone valid reasons for including the statement. The current situation is hot now in a much more direct and immediate way than ever during the original Cold war: we have regular russian troops fighting right across Russia′s border, under an exceedingly thin cover of deniability, in Ukraine, part of whose territory has been formally annexed, which in turn is hosting the US intelligence and military advisors and personnel. But that is extraneous to the subject of discussion here. As i said above, I am not claiming that Putin′s words on 40 missiles are not ""important"". I say that the exact meaning of those words, without a broader context and expertise info on the subject, is not clear (See my post above), and consequently the quote alone would stick out as a meaningless (or puzzling) throw-in. Then, you said above ""Russian nuclear weapons are actually in a workable state"". May I ask you: Whose opinion is that? And what does it matter? The RF nuclear arsenal has NEVER been used in actual battle and thus its actual battleworthiness (which includes a wide gamut of capabilities, apart from just having warheads and delivery systems that can deliver unhindered in a situation where no one actually hinders) is a matter of assessment and supposition. That said, there is an overwhelming body of experts′ opinion that this arsenal IS formidable and capable of destroying the US both in a putative first strike and in a retaliatory strike, in a guaranteed way, even in a situation where the entire political and military leadership of Russia is destroyed (See Dead Hand (nuclear war)). I hear your point about ""this is all not about real capabilities, but about intentions and decisions that can be completely illogical"". But where do you see any intentions, or illogical decisions in those words by Putin? He does appear to be boasting (by quite possibly lying as is common in such matters), but what is his intent? The most likely intent to be deduced from his words: he is trying to pull the wool over the eyes, and hide the rapid rate of the shrinking of the RF arsenal. But that is a speculation. If you can find an expert′s analysis of these words, then it may well be interesting and notable.  "