Annexed territories of Ukraine: The Kremlin advises caution when speculating on the use of nuclear weapons

Annexation of Ukrainian territory
The Kremlin advises caution when speculating on the use of nuclear weapons

09/30/2022, 12:36 PM

The Kremlin has denied speculation that Russia may have used nuclear weapons in the fighting over Moscow’s annexed areas of Ukraine. “People who talk about nuclear escalation are behaving very irresponsibly,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

In the afternoon, President Vladimir Putin wanted to sign a document on the incorporation of the four regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia, mostly controlled by Russian forces, into the Russian Federation. It was said from Moscow in advance that Russia would defend its territory by all means, which led to speculation about the use of nuclear weapons.

In response to a question about this debate, Peskov urged interviewed journalists to read Russia’s military doctrine closely. “Correct wording is very important there.” Doctrine says that nuclear weapons can be used if an attack with conventional weapons endangers “Russia’s very existence”.