So far, Russia has “No need to use nuclear weapons” in Ukraine. This is what Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview for the documentary film “Russia. Kremlin. Putin. 25 years”.
The Russian leader believes that Kyiv “tried to provoke us, to make us make mistakes” And expressed hope that it would not be necessary to use nuclear weapons in the future.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Western countries have repeatedly feared a nuclear war. The Kremlin, represented by the presidency spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, described these declarations as “speculation” from the press.
Vladimir Putin himself stressed that Russia did not intend to use nuclear weapons in the first place, but he pointed out that the country was ready to face any evolution of the situation.
Last November, Russia updated its nuclear doctrine. She still considers nuclear weapons as “A means of deterrence, whose use is an extreme and compulsory measure”but has increased the number of scenarios in which Moscow reserves the right to use them.
-“A ceasefire is inevitable”
Vladimir Putin said that “Despite all the tragedy we are currently experiencing”a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine is inevitable and that it is only a matter of time. According to the president, Russia has “Sufficient forces and means to bring what started in 2022 to its logical conclusion with the result Moscow needs.”
Since the return to power of Donald Trump, Washington actively pushes the two parties to hire talks. Moscow and Kyiv said they wanted to end the war, but have laid a number of conditions.
In June, Vladimir Putin presented his “peace plan”, the two main points of which were the refusal that Ukraine adheres to NATO and the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the partially occupied regions of Louhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporijia, as well as the recognition by Kyiv “New Russian regions”.
Volodymyr Zelensky categorically rejected this plan, which the West considers it impossible to satisfy. The Ukrainian president has repeatedly declared that “The territorial integrity of Ukraine is not a subject of negotiation”.
Why didn’t war start in 2014?
To the question of whether a “special military operation” could have started in 2014, the year of the illegal annex to Crimea, Vladimir Putin replied that Russia was not ready at the time for a “Front confrontation with the entire West” and that “required serious preparation for the evolution of the situation in this direction.” The Russian president said he hoped to resolve “The Donbass problem by peaceful means”.
