Predsjednik Vladimir Putin rekao je da je Rusija spremna koristiti nuklearno oružje ako postoji prijetnja njezinoj državnosti, suverenitetu ili neovisnosti, izražavajući nadu da će se SAD suzdržati od akcija koje bi mogle izazvati nuklearni sukob.
Putinova izjava bila je još jedno otvoreno upozorenje Zapadu uoči predsjedničkih izbora ovog tjedna na kojima je gotovo sigurno da će osvojiti još jedan šestogodišnji mandat.
U intervjuu za rusku državnu televiziju objavljenom u srijedu ujutro, predsjednik Putin je opisao Joea Bidena kao veterana političara koji u potpunosti razumije moguće opasnosti od eskalacije i rekao da ne misli da svijet ide u nuklearni rat.
Istodobno, naglasio je kako su ruske nuklearne snage u punoj spremnosti i “s vojno-tehničkog stajališta spremni smo”.
Putin je rekao da je u skladu sa sigurnosnom doktrinom zemlje Moskva spremna koristiti nuklearno oružje u slučaju prijetnje “postojanju ruske države, našem suverenitetu i neovisnosti”.
Ruski čelnik više je puta govorio o svojoj spremnosti na korištenje nuklearnog oružja od pokretanja invazije na Ukrajinu u veljači 2022. Najnovija takva prijetnja došla je u njegovu govoru o stanju nacije prošlog mjeseca, kada je upozorio Zapad kako bi produbljivanje njegove umiješanosti u borbe u Ukrajini riskiralo nuklearni rat.
Asked in the interview if he has ever considered using battlefield nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Putin responded that there has been no need for that.
He also voiced confidence that Moscow will achieve its goals in Ukraine and issued a blunt warning to Western allies, declaring that “the nations that say they have no red lines regarding Russia should realise that Russia won’t have any red lines regarding them either.”
He held the door open for talks, but emphasised that Russia will hold onto its gains and would seek firm guarantees from the West.
“It shouldn’t be a break for the enemy to rearm but a serious talk involving the guarantees of security for the Russian Federation,” he said.
Putin said that a recent spike in Ukrainian drone attacks deep inside Russia is part of efforts to derail the country’s three-day presidential election, which starts Friday and which he is set to win by a landslide, relying on the tight control over Russia’s political scene he has established during his 24-year rule.
Russian authorities reported another major attack by Ukrainian drones early Wednesday. The Defence Ministry said air defences downed 58 drones over six regions. One of the drones hit an oil refinery in the Ryazan region, injuring at least two people and sparking a fire. Another drone was downed as it was approaching a refinery near St. Petersburg.
Ukraine, meanwhile, reported more Russian attacks early Wednesday.
A Russian strike killed two people and injured another five in the town of Myrnohrad in the eastern region of Donetsk, about 30 kilometres from the front line, according to Gov. Vadym Filashkin. Local rescuers managed to pull a 13-year-old girl out of the rubble of an apartment building that was hit by a Russian missile.
A five-storey building in the northern city of Sumy was struck by a drone launched from Russia overnight and 10 people were rescued from the rubble, including eight who sustained injuries, according to the regional administration.
Meanwhile, in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, the death toll from a Russian missile attack the previous night rose to four.
Governor Serhii Lysak said that 43 people were wounded in Kryvyi Rih, including 12 children, the youngest of them two years and eleven months old.
“Every day our cities and villages suffer similar attacks. Every day Ukraine loses people because of Russian evil,” Zelenskyy said.
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