Vladimir Putin sent a chilling message to the West, warning them that giving into Ukraine’s latest demand would lead to a nuclear war.
Speaking to group of senior officials, the Kremlin leader pledged to change Russia’s nuclear doctrine and threatened to use nuclear weapons if it was attacked by any state with conventional weapons.
In his strongest remarks yet on possible nuclear strikes, the Russian leader said his military would have a swift “nuclear response” if it detected the start of a massive launch of missiles, aircraft, and drones into its territory, which presented a “critical threat” to the country’s sovereignty.
Putin made the remarks at a Russian Security Council meeting yesterday which discussed nuclear deterrence, according to Ria Novosti, a Russian state news agency.
This comes as Ukraine continues to seek approval to use long-range Western missiles against military sites in Russia.
Responding to the Russian remarks, Andriy Yermak, chief of staff for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Russia “no longer has anything other than nuclear blackmail to intimidate the world”.
President Zelensky is set to meet US President Joe Biden today, where Kyiv’s request for using long-range missiles inside Russia is top of the agenda.
He has been asking for months for permission to use British Storm Shadow missiles and US-made Atacms missiles to hit targets deeper inside Russia.
Kyiv wants to target bases inside Russia which it says are sending missiles into Ukraine but the US has so far been reluctant to greenlight the move.
In his address to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, President Zelensky claimed he had proof that Russia was plotting to target three Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
In June, Putin warned Europe was “defenceless” against a nuclear strike from Moscow.
He said that Russia had “many more [tactical nuclear weapons] than there are on the European continent, even if the United States brings theirs over”.
Putin added: “Europe does not have a developed early warning system. In this sense, they are more or less defenceless.”
