President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed skepticism in an interview with Fox News over Russian President Vladimir Putin's continued nuclear threats since the full-scale war, saying that Putin "loves his life" and is, therefore, likely afraid to use nuclear weapons.
"Nobody knows what's in his head," Zelensky said in the interview, which was posted to the president's official Youtube channel on Sept. 29. "He could use nuclear (weapons) on any country at any time – or not. (But) I don't think that he will."
Since the launch of the full-scale invasion, Russia has repeatedly invoked the threat of its nuclear arsenal to deter Western military support for Ukraine.
The Russian military will be able to "determine the conditions" for the use of nuclear weapons, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Russian state-controlled television on Sept. 29.
"(The military) closely monitors what weapons are used and how. They are the ones who record the direct involvement of the countries of the collective West in the (war in) Ukraine, and they will not diminish their focus," Peskov said.
Peskov went on to blame NATO member states for aiding Ukraine in its war effort against Russia, claiming that it "made it necessary to make adjustments both to the nuclear doctrine and to the foundations of state policy in the area of nuclear deterrence."
In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Ukraine and its Western allies should not try "to fight to victory with a nuclear power."
Lavrov's remarks come days after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed revisions to Moscow's nuclear doctrine at a U.N. Security Council meeting. Putin announced that Russia could respond to conventional missile strikes with nuclear weapons, and indicated that Moscow would treat any attack backed by a nuclear-armed country as a coordinated assault.
Olena Goncharova
(Updated: )
