According to Sergei Shoigu, Russia's defence minister, building the infrastructure for its nuclear forces will be a top priority in 2023.
On state television, Shoigu said that infrastructure is being constructed to support new missile systems and that Russia will work to improve the combat capability of its missile forces. Russia is the nation with the greatest nuclear arsenal, housing close to 6,000 nuclear warheads.
In order to protect Russia's "territorial integrity," which includes the Ukrainian area it has annexed, Putin has threatened to deploy nuclear weapons. The United States asserts that it has warned Russia of the dire repercussions in the event that they use nuclear weapons.
New START talks between Russia and the United States, which limit the number of warheads each country can deploy, were scheduled to take place this week in Cairo.
On the eve of the meeting, however, Moscow abruptly backed out, accusing Washington of toxic anti-Russian behaviour and of trying to use the treaty to advance American interests.