Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told PBS Newsshore in an interview on Monday that Russia would only use nuclear weapons if there is a threat to the country’s existence – and not as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“No result of the operation (in Ukraine) is definitely a reason for the use of a nuclear weapon,” Peskov said. “We have a security concept which states very clearly that only when there is a threat to the existence of the state in our country, we can use and we can actually use nuclear power to eliminate the threat to the existence of our country.” energy can be used.” Weapons will be used.”
Asked about US President Joe Biden’s remarks about calling Vladimir Putin a “butcher” and declaring the Russian president not in power, Peskov said, “It’s quite dangerous.”
“It’s a personal disgrace,” said Peskov. “Of course, this is completely unacceptable. It is not up to the President of the United States to decide who is going to be and who is the President of the Russian Federation.”
Some references: In an address in Poland on Saturday, Biden made a quick remark – “for god’s sake, this man can’t stay in power” – that caught US and international officials off-guard, sending the White House into cleanup mode over the weekend .
Citizen Target Denial: In a PBS interview, Peskov denied that the Russian military intentionally targeted civilians in Ukraine – describing brutal bombings on civilian infrastructure including homes, schools, hospitals and more despite Ukrainian forces, journalists and refugees fleeing the country. did. ,
“They are not shelling houses. They are not opening apartments. They are not shelling civilian objects, ”said Peskov. “They’re just shelling and they’re targeting military infrastructure.”
The US officially announced last week that the Russian military had committed a war crime in Ukraine. The International Criminal Court in The Hague has also opened an investigation into the attack.