Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that he was ready to put his country's nuclear forces on alert to secure the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine last year.

Putin made the comments in a pre-recorded documentary broadcast on Russian state television to mark the one-year anniversary of Moscow's takeover of the Black Sea peninsula. The film featured an interview in which Putin admits "we were ready to do this" when asked about his willingness to ready Russia's nuclear arsenal.