Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian Federation can use nuclear weapons only in the event of a real threat to the existence of the country.
“We have a concept of national security, it is in the public domain, you can read all the reasons why nuclear weapons can be used. That is, if there is a threat to the existence of the country, then it can be used in accordance with our concept. Other reasons mentioned in this text, no,” Peskov said on CNN .
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s chief spokesman has conceded that Russia has yet to achieve any of its military goals in Ukraine and refused to deny that Moscow could resort to the use of nuclear weapons.
In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday, Dmitry Peskov repeatedly refused to rule out that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons against what Moscow saw as an “existential threat.” When asked under what conditions Putin would use Russia’s nuclear capability, Peskov replied, “if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be.”
When asked what Putin thought he had achieved in Ukraine so far, Peskov answered: “Well, first of all, not yet. He hasn’t achieved yet.”
The spokesman also claimed that the “special military operation” — the Kremlin’s official euphemism for Russia’s invasion in Ukraine — was “going on strictly in accordance with the plans and the purposes that were established before hand.”
