Russia has said that it is open to using nuclear weapons in the ongoing conflict against Ukraine if it faces an existential threat.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov issued the chilling threat during an interview with CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour.
Peskov, who is the press secretary for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, refused to rule out the use of nuclear weapons in the ongoing conflict.
He insisted that his country’s nuclear doctrine remained consistent but failed to rule out the use of atomic weapons entirely.
Putin’s spokesperson spoke of using nuclear weapons if Russia ever faced an existential threat. However, he did not elaborate on what actions would constitute an “existential threat” that would force his country to use nuclear weapons.
Said Peskov,
“We have a concept of domestic security, and it’s public. You can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used.
“So if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be used in accordance with our concept.”
You can listen to part of the interview below,
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
Later on in the interview, Peskov seemed to concede that Vladimir Putin’s invasion into Ukraine is not going according to plan after a furious fightback from Ukraine.
The Kremlin spokesperson went on to say that his government’s ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine would continue to work towards its aims.
“[Putin] hasn’t achieved yet,” he said, adding that the operation was ‘going on strictly in accordance with the plans and the purposes that were established beforehand’.
Following Peskov’s comments that Russia is willing to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby described Russia’s approach as ‘dangerous.’
