Russia would only use nuclear weapons against threat to ‘state existence’, says Kremlin

Russia would only use nuclear weapons when there is a threat to the country’s existence — and not as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told PBS Newshour in an interview on Monday. .

“Any result of the operation (in Ukraine), of course, is no reason to use a nuclear weapon,” Peskov said. “We have a concept of security that states very clearly that only when there is a threat to the existence of the state, in our country, can we and will actually use nuclear weapons to eliminate the threat to the existence of our country.”

When asked about US President Joe Biden’s comments calling Vladimir Putin a “butcher” and declaring that the Russian president should no longer remain in power, Peskov said “it is quite alarming”.

“It’s a personal insult,” Peskov said. “Of course it is completely unacceptable. It is not up to the President of the United States to decide who will be the President of the Russian Federation.”

In a speech in Poland on Saturday, Biden made an offhand remark — “For God’s sake, this man cannot stay in power” — that caught US and international officials off guard, leaving the White House in “cleaning mode” at the end of week.

Denial of civilian targets

In an interview with PBS, Peskov denied that Russian forces deliberately targeted civilians in Ukraine. Despite the forces, journalists and Ukrainian refugees describe brutal bombings hitting civilian infrastructure including homes, schools, hospitals and more.

“They are not bombing houses. They’re not bombing apartments. They are not bombing civilian objects,” Peskov said. “They are just bombing and targeting military infrastructure.”

The US officially declared last week that Russian forces had committed war crimes in Ukraine. The International Criminal Court in The Hague also launched an investigation into the invasion.