Putin claims West wanted Russia ‘to make mistakes’, nuke Ukraine

(MENAFN) Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Western nations supporting Ukraine of trying to provoke Moscow into using nuclear weapons in the ongoing conflict. Speaking in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin aired on Sunday, Putin claimed the West sought to push Russia into making a critical mistake.

“They wanted to provoke us, to force us into missteps,” Putin said, emphasizing that there has been no necessity for nuclear weapons so far. “I hope it won’t be needed,” he added, reaffirming that Russia has sufficient military strength to achieve its objectives in the conflict, which began in 2022.

The issue of nuclear weapons has resurfaced in recent months, with Sergey Shoigu—now secretary of Russia’s National Security Council—stating last month that Russia could consider using nuclear arms in response to any form of aggression against itself or Belarus. Shoigu also warned that the involvement of foreign troops in Ukraine could spark a direct clash between NATO and Russia, potentially escalating into nuclear war.

Shoigu pointed to recent updates in Russia’s nuclear doctrine, approved by Putin in November, which allow for a nuclear response to large-scale conventional or WMD-based aggression. The doctrine also stipulates that all members of a hostile military alliance, or nations allowing strikes from their territory, could be considered legitimate targets.

In a separate statement made in December 2024, Putin suggested that Russia’s deployment of advanced Oreshnik hypersonic missiles might serve as a powerful enough deterrent to make the use of nuclear weapons unnecessary.

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