News Feed

Johnson: Putin 'would be crazy' to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine

1 min read

U.K. ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Sky News that he doesn’t think Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will use tactical nuclear weapons in his war against Ukraine. Such a military strike would put Russia into a “cryogenic economic freeze” and lead to a “total disaster” for the country, Johnson said.

Johnson added that in case of a nuclear attack, Putin would “lose a lot of the middle ground of global tacit acquiescence that he’s had.”

On Oct. 27, Putin claimed Russia's leadership "had never talked about using nuclear weapons" and that a nuclear strike on Ukraine would make neither political nor military sense. He also accused the West, including former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss, of “engaging in nuclear blackmail” against Moscow.

Previously Putin had repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons when discussing the war with Ukraine.

Avatar
The Kyiv Independent news desk

We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

Read more
News Feed
Video

The Kyiv Independent’s Jared Goyette speaks with a Canadian volunteer, Brittney Shki-Giizis, who left the Canadian military to fight in Ukraine. A former tank instructor, she explains why she chose to come to the front, how she learned Ukrainian to serve in a Ukrainian unit, and how the war’s shift toward drones led her to become an FPV (first-person view) drone pilot.

Show More