Russia is prepared to use nuclear weapons only if its existence is endangered, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated in an interview with the Swiss magazine Die Weltwoche.
The Kremlin representative also noted that Russia can achieve the objectives of its “special military operation” (the war against Ukraine) without resorting to nuclear weapons.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during joint nuclear force exercises between Russia and Belarus, declared that the use of nuclear weapons is an exceptional measure to ensure security. He also mentioned that, given the current level of global tension, the nuclear triad must remain a reliable guarantor of the sovereignty of the Russia-Belarus Union State.
Prior to this, Andrey Kolesnik, a member of the Russian State Duma's Defense Committee, had stated that, in his opinion, the only way to defend the Kaliningrad region in the event of escalation would be to launch a nuclear strike on the capitals of European Union countries.
