ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he saw no current threat to his country's sovereignty that would warrant the use of nuclear weapons but again warned that Moscow could send arms to countries or groups to strike Western targets.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin said using nuclear weapons was only possible in "exceptional cases," adding that he did not believe "such a case has arisen."

The Russian leader has repeatedly raised the specter of a nuclear attack since he sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Also on Friday, he repeated a warning made days earlier that Moscow "reserves the right" to arm Western adversaries as a response to some North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies allowing Ukraine to use their weapons to strike targets inside Russia.

"If they supply [weapons] to the combat zone and call for using these weapons against our territory, why don't we have the right to do the same?" Putin asked.

"But I'm not ready to say that we will be doing it tomorrow, either," he added, suggesting that it might affect global stability.

He didn't specify where such arms might be sent. The United States has said Russia has turned to North Korea and Iran to beef up its stock of relatively simple weapons, but Moscow could dip into its stock of high-tech missiles to share with adversaries of the West if Putin decides to fulfill his threat.

The US and Germany recently authorized Ukraine to hit some targets on Russian soil with the long-range weapons they are supplying to Kyiv.

On Wednesday, a Western official and a US senator said Ukraine has used American weapons to strike inside Russia under newly approved guidance from President Joe Biden that allows American arms to be used to defend Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter, spoke on condition of anonymity.

Putin also said he saw no need for a new round of mobilization to beef up Russia's forces in Ukraine because "people come voluntarily and go to the front lines to defend the Motherland."

Russia mobilized 300,000 reservists in the fall of 2022 amid a series of military setbacks in Ukraine, an unpopular move that prompted hundreds of thousands to flee the country to avoid being drafted.

Putin made the comments during a question-and-answer session with a pro-Kremlin moderator at the forum, which has been used by Russia for decades as a showcase for touting the country's development and to woo investors.

Earlier in a speech, he said the Russian economy is growing despite international sanctions, adding that Moscow had increasing economic ties with countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Putin also said Russia "remains one of the key participants in world trade," despite the sweeping sanctions, imposed for sending troops into Ukraine, that cut off much of Russia's trade with Western Europe, the US and their allies.

The main driver of Russia's economic growth is the fighting, now as important to the Kremlin economically as it is politically.

Russians are finding a few imported staples, and most global brands have disappeared or been reincarnated as Russian equivalents. But not much else has changed economically for most people, with massive state spending for military equipment and hefty payments to volunteer soldiers giving a strong boost to the economy.

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