PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday there was no need to utilize nuclear weapons to ensure Moscow’s victory in Ukraine, the strongest signal from a Kremlin leader that there will be no nuclear attack.
Putin, whose forces have made advances in eastern Ukraine in recent months, said he saw no conditions for using such weapons and demanded that people stop discussing the nuclear issue.
However, Putin, who heads the world’s largest nuclear power, stated that he did not rule out changes to the Russian nuclear doctrine, which determines the conditions for the utilize of such weapons.
He also said that if necessary, Russia could test nuclear weapons, although he does not see such a need for now.
Putin’s response came in response to a question from Sergei Karaganov, an influential Russian analyst, who asked whether Putin should keep a “nuclear gun in the temple” of the West over Ukraine.
“Use is possible in exceptional cases – in case of a threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. I don’t think this is the case. There is no such need,” Putin told the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
“But this doctrine is a living tool and we carefully observe what is happening in the world around us and do not rule out making some changes to this doctrine. It also involves testing nuclear weapons.”
NUCLEAR DOCTRINE
Russia’s published 2020 nuclear doctrine sets out the conditions under which a Russian president would consider using nuclear weapons: generally in response to an attack with nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction, or to the use of conventional weapons against Russia “when the very existence of the state is threatened.”
“If necessary, we will conduct tests. For now, there is no need for that either, because our information and computer capabilities allow us to produce everything in its current form.”
Last year, Karaganov proposed a narrow nuclear attack on a NATO member in Europe to force the West to withdraw from the conflict over Ukraine and thus prevent a third world war.
Last week, US President Joe Biden eased some restrictions on Ukraine’s utilize of US weapons in Russia, prompting warnings from Moscow of a potentially perilous escalation of the conflict.
Putin said Wednesday he could place conventional missiles within striking range of the United States and its European allies if they allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russia with Western long-range weapons. He also said the West wrongly assumed Russia would never utilize nuclear weapons.
