Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow’s victory in Ukraine does not require nuclear weapons, the strongest signal yet from the Kremlin that there will be no nuclear attack.
Putin, whose forces have been advancing in eastern Ukraine in recent months, said he saw no conditions for the use of such weapons and called for an end to talk about it.
But he added that he does not rule out changes in Russia’s nuclear policy, which defines the conditions under which such weapons could be used.
He also said that Russia could test nuclear weapons if necessary, although he sees no need to do so at this time.
In doing so, Putin answered a question from Sergei Karaganov, an influential Russian analyst, who asked him whether he must hold a “nuclear gun to the temple” of the West regarding Ukraine.
“The use (of nuclear weapons) is possible in an exceptional case – in case of a threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. I don’t think that happened. There is no need,” Putin said at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg.
“But the doctrine is a living tool and we closely monitor what is happening in the world around us, so we do not rule out some changes to it. This also applies to the testing of nuclear weapons.”
The Russian nuclear doctrine, published in 2020, defines the conditions under which the Russian president can consider the use of nuclear weapons, i.e. in response to an attack with nuclear 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 (…).”
Last year, Karaganov proposed a limited nuclear attack on a NATO member in Europe to force the West to withdraw from the conflict over Ukraine and prevent World War III.
US President Joe Biden last week eased some restrictions on Ukraine’s use of US weapons for attacks in Russia, prompting Moscow to warn of a potentially dangerous escalation of the conflict.
Putin said on Wednesday that he could deploy conventional missiles in locations from which he could attack the US and its European allies if they allow Ukraine to fire deeper into Russian territory with long-range Western weapons. He said the West was wrong to think Russia would never use nuclear weapons.
