(CNN) — Vladimir Putin’s main spokesman acknowledged that Russia has not yet achieved any of its military objectives in Ukraine and refused to rule out that Moscow may resort to the use of nuclear weapons.
In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday, Dmitry Peskov repeatedly refused to rule out Russia considering using nuclear weapons against what Moscow considers an “existential threat.” Asked under what conditions Putin would use Russia’s nuclear capability, Peskov replied: “If it is an existential threat to our country, then it can be.”
Putin has previously hinted at the use of nuclear weapons against nations he deems a threat to Russia. Already in February, the president of Russia he said in a televised statement: “No matter who tries to stand in our way or, even more so, create threats to our country and our people, they must know that Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be like they have never seen in their entire history.”
Next, said in a televised meeting with Russian defense officials that “officials from major NATO countries have indulged in aggressive remarks about our country, so I am ordering the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff to put the NATO Force on combat alert.” Russian Army Deterrent”.
Asked what Putin thought he had achieved so far in Ukraine, Peskov replied “Well, first of all, not yet. He hasn’t achieved it yet.”
The spokesman also claimed that the “special military operation,” the Kremlin’s official euphemism for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was “proceeding strictly in accordance with the plans and purposes established in advance.”
Peskov also repeated Putin’s demands, saying that the “main objectives of the operation” are “to get rid of Ukraine’s military potential”, to ensure that Ukraine is a “neutral country”, to get rid of “nationalist battalions”, that Ukraine accepts that Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, is part of Russia and to accept that the breakaway states of Luhansk and Donetsk “are already independent states”.
He also stated that Russia has only attacked military targets, despite numerous reports of Russian airstrikes against civilian targets harboring ordinary Ukrainians.
The interview comes at a time when Western intelligence sources are reporting that Russian operations in parts of Ukraine have stopped.