Mr Putin asserted that Western countries are mistaken if they think Russia will never use nuclear weapons.

Photo: Sputnik/Valentina Pevtsova/REUTERS collected.

Russia's special operations campaign in Ukraine in 2022 led to the worst diplomatic breakdown between Russia and the West since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 – and the Kremlin has repeatedly warned that the risk of global war is growing.

Meeting face-to-face with senior editors of international media for the first time since the war in Ukraine began, Putin called Western claims that Russia could attack NATO “absurd,” citing the alliance’s military might.

But when asked about the risk of nuclear war, the 71-year-old Kremlin leader said Russia's nuclear doctrine allows the use of such weapons if the country's territorial integrity or sovereignty is threatened.

“For some reason, the West believes that Russia will never use them.”

“We have a nuclear doctrine, read about it. If someone threatens our sovereignty and territorial integrity, we will consider the use of all possible means absolutely possible. This decision should not be taken lightly.”

The nuclear doctrine published by Russia in 2020 sets out the conditions under which the Russian president might consider using nuclear weapons: primarily in response to an attack with nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction, or the use of conventional weapons against Russia “when the survival of the state is on the line.”

Mr Putin has rejected Western claims that Russia is nuclear ostentation, pointing out that the US is the only country to have used nuclear weapons in war – against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Missile

Mr Putin has warned that the decision to allow Ukraine to use increasingly powerful Western weapons to attack Russian territory is a serious escalation, and asserted that these weapons are certainly controlled by systems and personnel from Western countries.

US President Joe Biden has allowed Kyiv to use US-aided weapons against military targets inside Russia, but Washington still prohibits Kyiv from attacking Russia with ATACMS, a weapon with a range of up to 300km, and other US-aided long-range weapons.

Asked about Western decisions, Putin distinguished between different types of weapons and said the use of the US ATACMS or the British Storm Shadow against Russia could lead to a stronger response from Moscow.

“We will improve our air defense systems and destroy them.”

“Secondly, we think that if someone thinks that they can use weapons of war to attack our territory and cause trouble for us, why should we not have the right to use weapons of an equivalent level in those areas where we can attack the vital facilities of those countries that dare to do the same to Russia. In short, the response can be asymmetrical.”

“If we see that these countries are being dragged into war with the Russian Federation, we reserve the right to act in the same direction. In general, this is a path that leads to very serious problems.”

Mr Putin has framed the war in Ukraine as an existential battle with a regressive West, which he says humiliated Russia after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 by encroaching on areas Moscow considers its sphere of power, including Ukraine.

Mr Putin said the West had refused to discuss the causes of the war – which he said began in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was overthrown in Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution, a coup backed by the United States.

The West rejects Mr Putin's analysis of the conflict.

Ukraine has said it will not stop fighting until Russian forces are pushed back from Ukrainian territory it controls – areas it considers to have become Russian territory.

Russia's leaders are increasingly talking about the risk of global war while the West remains unclear about how to respond to Russian military gains in Ukraine.

Western and Ukrainian leaders have shrugged off Russian warnings of a full-scale war involving Russia, the world’s largest nuclear power, but have also repeatedly warned that Mr Putin could attack a member of NATO, the world’s largest military alliance led by the United States.

Mr Putin and Mr Biden have both asserted that a direct conflict between Russia and NATO would be a step towards World War III.

“They should not turn Russia into an enemy. They will only harm themselves with such a decision,” Mr. Putin said.

“They claim that Russia wants to attack NATO… That is a thoughtless view. Who came to that conclusion? It is completely absurd, you see? Absolutely nonsense.”

Nguyen Quang Minh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/ong-putin-khang-dinh-cac-nuoc-phuong-tay-sai-lam-neu-cho-rang-nga-se-khong-bao-gio-su-dung-vu-khi-nu-nhan-204667081.htm