Putin claims he ‘hopes nuclear weapons will not be needed’ in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin has downplayed the possibility of using nuclear weapons in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
In a recent interview with Russian state television, reflecting on his 25 years in power, Putin asserted that the need for nuclear deployment has not arisen, and expressed his hope that it never will.
He maintained that Russia possesses the necessary resources and capabilities to achieve a “logical conclusion” in the conflict.
Responding to a question about Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory, Putin said: “There has been no need to use those (nuclear) weapons … and I hope they will not be required.”
“We have enough strength and means to bring what was started in 2022 to a logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires,” he said.
Putin signed a revamped version of Russia’s nuclear doctrine in November 2024, spelling out the circumstances that allow him to use Moscow’s atomic arsenal, the world’s largest. That version lowered the bar, giving him that option in response to even a conventional attack backed by a nuclear power.
In the film, Putin also said Russia did not launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine — what he called a “special military operation” — in 2014, when it illegally annexed Crimea, because it was “practically unrealistic.”
“The country was not ready for such a frontal confrontation with the entire collective West,” he said. He claimed also that Russia “sincerely sought to solve the problem of Donbas by peaceful means.”
Putin said that reconciliation with Ukraine was “inevitable.”
Russia and Ukraine, however, remain are at odds over competing ceasefire proposals.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday, in comments made public Saturday, that Moscow’s announcement of a 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to mark Victory Day in World War II is merely an attempt to create a “soft atmosphere” ahead of Russia’s annual celebrations.
Zelenskyy instead renewed calls for a more substantial 30-day pause in hostilities, as the U.S. had initially proposed. He said the proposed ceasefire could start anytime as a meaningful step toward ending the war.
The Kremlin said the truce was on humanitarian grounds and will run from the start of May 8 and last through the end of May 10 to mark Moscow’s defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 — Russia’s biggest secular holiday.
A Russian drone attack overnight on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, wounded 11 people, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said Sunday. Two children were among the wounded.
