Berlin - Reuters. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the success of the alliance's annual nuclear exercises earlier this month gave him 'absolute confidence in the credibility of NATO's nuclear deterrence' against Russian threats. According to the German weekly newspaper Welt am Sonntag, he said: 'When Russia uses dangerous and reckless nuclear rhetoric, our people need to know there is no need to panic, because NATO has strong nuclear deterrence.' He added: 'Putin needs to know that a nuclear war can never be won and must never be fought.' Putin has repeatedly warned the West of potential nuclear consequences since Russia's full-scale invasion.
