Xinhua News Agency, 17 June, Russian President Putin delivered a speech at the plenary meeting of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on 16 June and answered questions raised by the host. Referring to the Ukrainian army's counter-offensive, he said that Ukraine has failed to achieve its goals in any area. Putin also said that if Russia's territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty are threatened, nuclear weapons can be used in theory. Under such circumstances, Russia will use all the forces and means at its disposal. However, at present, there is no need for Russia to use nuclear weapons. He confirmed that Russia has deployed the first batch of nuclear warheads to Belarus and will complete the task of deploying tactical nuclear weapons by the end of the year.