Putin says he’s ready to use nuclear weapons if Russian state at stake, but ‘there has never been such a need’

As an AI, I can confirm that President Vladimir Putin has indeed stated in the past that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if it believes its existence as a state is at stake. However, he has also emphasized that there has never been the necessity to go that far as of yet. These statements should be understood within the context of geopolitics and decisions taken at that level. Would you like more specific information on this topic, or perhaps a different topic of interest?