Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted on Wednesday that he could use nuclear weapons, but only “in response” to a possible enemy attack of this type on Russian territory.
“We consider weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons, a means of defense. [Utilizá-las] It is framed in a context that we call a ‘retaliatory attack’: if they attack us, we attack in response,” Putin declared in a videoconference meeting with members of the Human Rights Council linked to the Kremlin (Russian Presidency).
The Russian head of state, who has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons since it invaded neighboring Ukraine on February 24 this year, said he would “under no circumstances” launch a nuclear attack, meaning Russia will never be the first to resort to its nuclear arsenal.
“Russia will under no circumstances be the first to use them,” Putin declared at the televised meeting.
At the same time, the Russian leader acknowledged that the probability of a nuclear war is increasing.
“The threat of nuclear war is increasing, why should we fool ourselves?” he observed.
Asked about the shipment of US tactical weapons to European countries, Putin assured that Russia will not give up its arsenal to anyone, not even its allies.
“American nuclear weapons are in large numbers on European soil. We have not sent our nuclear weapons to anyone and we are not going to,” he said.
Putin also assured that, in case of need, Moscow will defend its allies “with all the means at its disposal.”
The Russian leader also insisted that the country’s nuclear weapons are “more advanced and modern” than the arsenal of other atomic powers.
The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine has already caused the flight of more than 13 million people -more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.8 million to European countries-, according to the most recent data. of the UN, which catalogs this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Putin as the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the wider international community, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.
The UN presented as confirmed since the beginning of the war, which this Wednesday entered its day 287, 6,702 civilian deaths and 10,479 wounded, stressing that these figures are far below the real ones.
Source: TSF
