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President Vladimir Putin has insisted that Russia has no plans to use nuclear weapons in its military operations in Ukraine. Photo / Sputnik / Sergey Guneev / Pool via REUTERS
Putin insisted that his country had no plans to use weapons of mass destruction and said the West had raised fears about nuclear weapons to try to turn the whole world against Moscow.
In a key foreign policy speech in Moscow, Putin sought to rally the non-Western world to his cause, declaring that the United States and Europe that pursue global hegemony are preparing for the most dangerous decade since World War II. .
Russia is conducting military exercises involving the capabilities of its nuclear forces during its war in Ukraine. But Putin said he has no intention of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, arguing that he has no military or political sense to do so.
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US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Russia’s annual “Grom” nuclear exercise did not seem intended to hide the true spread of nuclear weapons.
“We haven’t seen anything to lead us to believe, at this point, that this is some kind of undercover business,” Austin said.
Putin has repeatedly threatened Ukraine and the West with dire consequences for any escalating attacks on Russian territory, which now includes four new territories annexed by Ukraine.
This has been interpreted by the West as a disguised threat to the use of nuclear weapons in self-defense, especially as Russia is seen as overwhelmed by the recent counterattack by Ukrainian forces.
However, in his remarks to the Valdai Discussion Club, a think tank Moscow, Putin said, “Western warnings about a potential Russian nuclear attack are an attempt to encourage and convince our friends or neutral countries that they must stand together against Russia.”