Vladimir Putin ‘hopes nuclear weapons will not be required’ in Ukraine
The president was responding to a question about Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine has not arisen and he hopes it will not.
In comments aired on Sunday in a film by Russian state television about his quarter of a century in power, Mr Putin said Moscow has the strength and the means to bring the conflict in Ukraine to a “logical conclusion”.
Responding to a question about Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory, he said: “There has been no need to use those (nuclear) weapons … and I hope they will not be required.”
“We have enough strength and means to bring what was started in 2022 to a logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires,” he said.
Mr Putin signed a revamped version of Russia’s nuclear doctrine in November, spelling out the circumstances that would allow him to use the world’s largest atomic arsenal.
The document gave that option in response even to a conventional attack backed by a nuclear power.
In the film, Mr Putin also said Russia did not launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine — what he called a “special military operation” — in 2014, when it illegally annexed Crimea, because it was “practically unrealistic”.
“The country was not ready for such a frontal confrontation with the entire collective West,” he said.
He also claimed that Russia “sincerely sought to solve the problem of Donbas by peaceful means”.
Mr Putin said reconciliation with Ukraine is “inevitable”.
Russia and Ukraine are at odds over competing ceasefire proposals.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a ceasefire is possible “even from today” if Moscow is serious about ending the war.
Speaking on Sunday at a joint news conference with Czech President Petr Pavel, Mr Zelensky noted that Russia has ignored a US proposal for a full ceasefire for 54 days and thanked the Czech Republic for backing Ukraine’s call for a 30-day ceasefire.
“Putin is very eager to show off his tanks at the (Victory Day) parade,” Mr Zelensky said, “but he should think about ending his war.”
Mr Zelensky again expressed deep scepticism over Russia’s proposal of a 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to mark Victory Day in the Second World War, saying Moscow continues to launch hundreds of assaults despite publicly signalling interest in a partial truce.
“Even during Easter, despite promises — including to the United States — Russia carried out more than a hundred assaults,” Mr Zelensky said, referring to Russian attacks during the 30-hour Easter ceasefire unilaterally declared by Mr Putin.
Mr Zelensky has repeatedly called for a more substantial 30-day pause in hostilities, as the US had initially proposed.
The Kremlin said the Victory Day truce, ordered on “humanitarian grounds”, will run from the start of May 8 and run until the end of May 10 to mark Moscow’s defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 — Russia’s biggest secular holiday.
Mr Zelensky thanked Mr Pavel for his country’s military support and said Ukraine hopes to receive 1.8 million artillery shells in 2025 as part of a Czech-led initiative to supply military aid to Kyiv.
The initiative, launched in 2024 and supported by Nato allies, supplied Ukraine with 1.5 million artillery rounds last year.
Mr Zelensky also said he had discussed with Mr Pavel “the next steps in the development of our aviation coalition”, namely the creation of an F-16 training school. He said that such a base could not be opened in Ukraine because of Russian attacks.
A Russian drone attack overnight on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, wounded 11 people, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said on Sunday. Two children were among the wounded.
Meanwhile, two people were killed by Russian guided bombs on Sunday, one each in the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions, local officials said.
Elsewhere, 11 people were wounded in a Russian drone attack overnight on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said on Sunday. Two children were among the wounded.
Russia fired a total of 165 exploding drones and decoys overnight, Ukraine’s air force said. Of those, 69 were intercepted and 80 were lost, having probably been electronically jammed. Russia also launched two ballistic missiles.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defences shot down 13 Ukrainian drones overnight.
