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“Vladimir Putin has pledged to add more than 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles to Russia's nuclear arsenal in 2015, sending a clear warning message to NATO amid escalating tensions”, - writes British The Independent.

The article quotes Putin saying that “new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) able to overcome even the most technically advanced anti-missile defence systems" would be added to Russia's nuclear arsenal this year.

According to the article Putin also said that Russia is starting to test a new system of long-range early warning radar "to monitor in the western direction", an announcement which Russia’s President made during his opening address at the Army-2015 Expo - an international military forum near Moscow.

Russia's deputy defence minister Anatoly Antonov in his turn highlighted the need for such measures referring to NATO’s advancement towards the Eastern European and Baltic countries and stating that NATO is pushing Russia into an arms race, writes the article.

The Independent reminds that few countries in the world possess land-based missiles capable of crossing continents and that Russia’s existing arsenal is believed to be slightly greater than that of the US. While the date from Russia is not transparent, Russia is thought to possess more than 8,000 nuclear warheads. The ICBMs, which Russia is now increasing in number, are designed for delivering warheads over long distances, says the article.