--- title: Russia: Putin Considered Putting Nuclear Weapons on Alert Over Crimea description: Russian's Putin says he considered putting nuclear weapons on alert during annexiation of Crimea canonical: https://time.com/3745522/vladimir-putin-russia-nukes-crimea-ukraine/ author: David Stout article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-16T06:01:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T05:10:40.375Z article:section: World og:title: Putin Toyed With Nuclear Option Over Crimea og:description: "We were ready to do it." og:url: https://time.com/3745522/vladimir-putin-russia-nukes-crimea-ukraine/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09d372899014c9c3/698783a98e0601ab7f45ac94/homeward-bound.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: RUSSIA-UKRAINE-CRISIS-CRIMEA-DOCUMENTARY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Putin Toyed With Nuclear Option Over Crimea twitter:description: "We were ready to do it." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09d372899014c9c3/698783a98e0601ab7f45ac94/homeward-bound.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Vladimir Putin Admits to Weighing Nuclear Option During Crimea Conflict ## Video: Putin's Band of Loyal Celebrities [Watch (HLS stream): Putin's Band of Loyal Celebrities](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/eu0uTiqi.m3u8) (1:51)  _Published 2014-08-20. Western celebrities were once willing to make public appearances in Russia. With few exceptions, the stars have stopped coming_ by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Mar 16, 2015 6:01 AM CUT  A woman looks at Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking as she watches an internet broadcast of the documentary Homeward Bound, on March 15, 2015 in Moscow. A woman looks at Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking as she watches an internet broadcast of the documentary Homeward Bound, on March 15, 2015 in Moscow.Dmitry Serebryakov —AFP/Getty Images by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Mar 16, 2015 6:01 AM CUT Russian President Vladimir Putin said he considered putting the country’s vast nuclear arsenal on alert to prevent outside agents from stopping the Kremlin’s forced annexation of the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine last year. Putin’s admission was aired during a prerecorded documentary called _Homeward Bound_, which was broadcast on a state-backed television network Sunday in the run-up to the first anniversary of Crimea’s annexation later this week. In the interview, Putin claimed he began hatching plans to seize the peninsula after Ukrainian President Viktor F. Yanukovych fled the country following months of protests. Putin also alleged he personally delivered direct orders to the country’s armed forces, as thousands of elite Russian soldiers fanned out across Crimea last March. When asked whether Moscow’s nuclear capabilities were also on standby, Putin [answered](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/15/us-russia-putin-yanukovich-idUSKBN0MB0GV20150315 "undefined") bluntly: “We were ready to do it.” The airing of Putin’s nuclear comments comes as the Russian strongman has seemingly vanished from the public sphere only days after a [prominent opposition leader ](http://time.com/3727379/putin-boris-nemtsov-kremlin-provocation/ "undefined")was assassinated within earshot of the Kremlin. The President was reportedly last seen on March 5, [fueling rumors](http://time.com/3743855/kremlin-putin-proof/ "undefined") that the 62-year-old had fallen ill or was caught up in an internal power struggle. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3745522/vladimir-putin-russia-nukes-crimea-ukraine/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3745522/vladimir-putin-russia-nukes-crimea-ukraine/"},"headline":"Vladimir Putin Admits to Weighing Nuclear Option During Crimea Conflict","datePublished":"2015-03-16T06:01:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:10:40.375Z","description":"\"We were ready to do it\"","url":"https://time.com/3745522/vladimir-putin-russia-nukes-crimea-ukraine/","keywords":["russia","Ukraine","Vladimir Putin","Crimea"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09d372899014c9c3/698783a98e0601ab7f45ac94/homeward-bound.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09d372899014c9c3/698783a98e0601ab7f45ac94/homeward-bound.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"RUSSIA-UKRAINE-CRISIS-CRIMEA-DOCUMENTARY","caption":"RUSSIA-UKRAINE-CRISIS-CRIMEA-DOCUMENTARY","creditText":"Dmitry Serebryakov —AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/russia/","name":"russia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3745522/vladimir-putin-russia-nukes-crimea-ukraine/","name":"Vladimir Putin Admits to Weighing Nuclear Option During Crimea Conflict"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Putin's Band of Loyal Celebrities","description":"Western celebrities were once willing to make public appearances in Russia. 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