Russian President Vladimir Putin said that there has been no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but also added that he hopes there won’t be.
In a part of an interview for Russian state television, published on Telegram, Putin said that Russia has the strength and means to bring the conflict in Ukraine to a “logical conclusion.”
Responding to a state television journalist’s question about Ukrainian attacks on Russia, Putin said: “There has been no need to use that (nuclear) weapon, and I hope there won’t be.”
“We have enough strength and means to bring what began in 2022 to a logical conclusion with an outcome that Russia demands,” said Putin.
In February 2022, Putin ordered tens of thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine, in what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation” against its neighbor. Although Russian forces were pushed back from Kyiv, they currently control around 20 percent of Ukraine, including much of the south and east.
In recent weeks, Putin has expressed readiness for negotiations on a peace settlement, as the United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump has said he wants to end the conflict through diplomacy. Fear of nuclear escalation has been a factor in the thinking of U.S. officials since Russia attacked Ukraine in early 2022.
Former CIA Director William Burns said that at the end of 2022, there was a real risk that Russia might use nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
