Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of trying to provoke him to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, in a commentary for a Russian state television documentary dedicated to his 25 years in power, DPA reported.
“They wanted to provoke us, they wanted to make us make mistakes“, he said in the film “Russia. Kremlin. Putin. 25 Years. However, there was no need to use nuclear weapons, he said. "And I hope that this will not be necessary in the future either."
Russia has enough forces and means to achieve everything that Moscow needs in the war that began in 2022, Putin said.
During the war, the Russian president and members of his team have repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine and its allies, DPA recalls.
According to information, the US government was under the impression that Moscow could be preparing to drop a nuclear bomb in the fall of 2022. At that time, Washington issued a stern warning to Russia through diplomatic channels.
The test launch of a new Russian medium-range missile against the Ukrainian city of Dnieper in November 2024 is also considered a nuclear threat, the agency said.