Kremlin Spokesman: World Should Take Note of Zelensky's Call for Preventive Nuclear Strike on Russia
17:37 GMT 06.10.2022 (Updated: 20:57 GMT 19.10.2022)
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During an online conference at Australia's Lowy Institute, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky called on NATO to carry out "preventive nuclear strikes" on Russia in order to "deter" Moscow from using nukes. The Russian side has repeatedly stressed that there can be no winner in a nuclear war, and it should never be unleashed.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has urged the entire world to take note of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's call for a preventive nuclear strike on Russia.
Peskov told Sputnik that Zelensky's statements about "preventive nuclear strikes" against Russia cannot be ignored by the international community, since they are nothing short of a call to start a World War, which will entail catastrophic repercussions.
The Kremlin spokesman stressed that the United States and the UK, which "de facto run Kiev," should bear responsibility for Zelensky's statements.
"These are the countries [the US and the UK] that de facto direct [Kiev], manage [its] activities and talk about [their] intentions to defend [Ukraine] to the bitter end. Therefore, they are responsible and should be held accountable for this person's actions and statements and this regime," Peskov said.
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, for her part, has warned that the West is fomenting a nuclear war, while an "unstable" Zelensky has turned into a "monster."
"Every single person on this planet should realise that Zelensky, a puppet and an unstable character who has been pumped with weapons, has turned into a monster, who could be used to destroy the planet," Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel.
"Every single person on this planet should realise that Zelensky, a puppet and an unstable character who has been pumped with weapons, has turned into a monster, who could be used to destroy the planet," Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel.
Reacting to the Ukrainian president's remarks, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for a "preemptive craniotomy" on Zelensky:
"Zelensky announced the need for preventive nuclear strikes on Russia. Psychiatrists should perform a preemptive craniotomy on this idiot before he causes more trouble for his people and everyone else," he wrote on Telegram.
Speaking at Australia's Lowy Institute via video link, Zelensky urged NATO to launch "preemptive strikes" on Russia, instead of "waiting for Russia's nuclear strikes."
“What should NATO do? [It should] eliminate the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons. But what is important, I once again appeal to the international community, as it was before February 24: preemptive strikes [are important] so that they know what will happen to them if [nuclear weapons] are used. It should not be vice versa, as in to wait for Russia's nuclear strikes," Zelensky said.
1 October 2022, 15:02 GMT
Addressing the nation on September 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the West had crossed every line in its anti-Russian policy and resorted to nuclear blackmail against Moscow. He pointed out that it wasn't just about the shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant encouraged by Western countries, but also about the statements of a number of representatives of the leading NATO nations about the possibility of using nuclear weapons against Russia.
"Some irresponsible politicians in the West talk about plans to organize the supply of long-range offensive weapons to Ukraine, systems that are capable of launching strikes against Crimea and other regions of Russia,” the Russian president said.
Putin then warned that if Russia's territorial integrity is threatened, Moscow will use all means at its disposal, including nuclear weapons. "This is not a bluff," the president stressed.
The Russian president has repeatedly said that there could be no winners in a nuclear war, and it should never be unleashed, noting that the Russian Federation consistently followed the letter and spirit of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Scenarios under which Russia could theoretically use nuclear weapons are set out in the Russian military doctrine and in Principles of State Policy on Nuclear Deterrence. According to the documents, the use of nukes is possible in the event of aggression against Russia or its allies with the use of weapons of mass destruction, or aggression with the use of conventional weapons, when the existence of the state itself is threatened.
The escalation in Kiev's rhetoric comes as Russia continues its special military operation in Ukraine that was launched on February 24 at the request of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Between September 23 and 27, the Donbass republics and areas of Kherson and Zaporozhye regions liberated during the military operation held referendums on whether to join Russia. Overwhelming majorities of residents in each territory voted in favor of doing so.
