Russia Finally Rules Out Using Nuclear Weapons In War With Ukraine
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Moscow has confirmed they have no plans to take Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine to the next level.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Newsweek that 'no one is thinking about [...] using a nuclear weapon,' as the conflict in Ukraine has 'nothing to do with' any threat to Russia's existence.
The aggressive state possesses around 6,000 nuclear warheads.
Former President Dmitry Medvedev revealed only days ago that Russia's nuclear doctrine did not require an enemy to use nuclear weapons first.
The former president's words follow a warning by Russian president Vladimir Putin, who said his nuclear forces had been put on 'high alert' following the February 24 invasion.
While there were fears held around the world that the situation in Ukraine would become nuclear, Russia has drawn a line in the sand.
Peskov told Newsweek that Russia has 'no doubt' that 'all the objectives of our special military operation in Ukraine' will be achieved.
He also added: "But any outcome of the operation, of course, is not a reason for usage of a nuclear weapon.
"We have a security concept that very clearly states that only when there is a threat for existence of the state in our country.
"We can use - and we will actually use - nuclear weapons to eliminate the threat or the existence of our country."
President Putin has raised the threat of using nuclear weapons – and his spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to rule out their use, in an interview with me tonight. pic.twitter.com/uxQqncLGYN
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) March 22, 2022
Peskov then added that Russia's existence and the Ukrainian invasion 'have nothing to do with each other'.
The Kremlin spokesperson dismissed Putin's threat of nuclear attack as a warning to not 'interfere in the affairs between Ukraine and Russia'.
Meanwhile, Russia has revealed it will drastically cut military activity near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and around Chernihiv.
Kremlin deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin revealed that Moscow has decided to 'fundamentally cut back' operations to 'increase mutual trust' at peace talks with Ukraine.
Sky News reports that the pledge has ben dismissed by Western officials as a likely an attempt to 'play for time'.
Speaking to Reuters, one Western official believes the announcement 'seems to be more of a tactical exercise' to buy time for struggling Russian troops to regroup.
The official's statement was also backed by the Pentagon.
It confirmed 'some movement of small numbers' of Russian forces away from the Ukrainian capital, but described the move as 'repositioning - not a withdrawal'.
US President Joe Biden put it simply at a White House press conference: "We'll see if they follow through."
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said only a concrete result from the talks can be trusted.
"We can say the signals we are receiving from the talks are positive but they do not drown out the explosions of Russian shells," he told Reuters.
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information.
