Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that there was no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine and he “hopes” that such a need will not arise. He “hopes” that such a need will not arise.
Putin said this to journalist Pavel Zarubin of the Russian state TV channel Rossiya, who in his Telegram channel published fragments of a film he made for Putin’s 25th anniversary in power.
“We wanted to be provoked there was no need to use this weapon and I hope there will be no need to use it,” Putin said. ,” Putin said.
He also expressed the opinion that Russia has enough forces and means to bring the war in Ukraine to, as he put it, “a logical conclusion” “with the result necessary for Russia”, and to use nuclear weapons for this purpose. Russia does not need to use nuclear weapons for this purpose.
During the years of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Putin has repeatedly addressed the topic of nuclear weapons, notably calling their use an “extraordinary security measure” .
Last year, changes were made to Russia’s nuclear doctrine that expand the possibilities of using these weapons. According to the new doctrine, for example, a massive strike on Russian territory using non-nuclear missile weapons – even without signs of a threat to the existence of the state, which was mentioned in the previous version of the doctrine – can be the basis for a nuclear strike.
The direct use of nuclear weapons is threatened by a number of Putin’s subordinates, the most active among them former president and deputy chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev. Recently, commenting in his Telegram channel on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s rejection of Putin’s idea to declare a ceasefire from 8 to 10 May, Medvedev wrote that if Ukraine tries to prevent a parade on 9 May in Moscow, 10 May in Kiev might not come.
Western media, in particular the Financial Times, citing sources, wrote that in autumn 2022, amid the retreat of the Russian army, there was a real threat of Russia using nuclear weapons. It was claimed that China’s position played a role in the Russian leadership’s refusal to do so – this was mentioned, in particular, by former US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.