The body was put together by Putin himself, and the members are handpicked.
(Photo: via REUTERS)
Moscow, Riga Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday dismissed fears that Russia would use nuclear weapons. The Kremlin chief emphasized that the nuclear weapons were used exclusively to protect the country and its allies and as a deterrent.
The fact that Putin made these statements after Ukraine had apparently attacked three Russian military airfields with drones in the past few days has raised concerns in some quarters that the conflict could escalate.
Putin spoke at a meeting with the so-called Human Rights Council, which he himself set up. The members of the committee are hand-picked by Putin, and he recently had critical representatives replaced. Independent Russian media, citing circles close to the Kremlin, reported that the members of the Human Rights Council had to pledge before the meeting not to raise certain issues with Putin, such as the poor equipment of the army.
In the course of his war of aggression against Ukraine, Putin had Russia’s nuclear weapons put on increased readiness. This was seen as a threat to the United States and NATO countries and a call to stay out of the war in Ukraine.
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Former President Dmitry Medvedev has repeatedly spoken of the possibility of nuclear war. In addition, the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine was also discussed in Russia in order to achieve faster results. In the face of global outrage, Russia had toned down its threats.
Putin said Russia’s military strategy involves using weapons of mass destruction in response to an attack. “That means if a blow is struck against us, then we hit back in response,” Putin said. Russia sees the weapons as “protection”.
Worry about escalation
However, the Russian president also said that the “threat of nuclear war” is increasing. “The danger is growing,” he said, but stressed: “We don’t have our nuclear weapons, including tactical ones, on the territory of other countries, the Americans have them – in Turkey and in a whole range of other European countries.”
There are also maneuvers there to use US nuclear weapons. “We have not done anything like this before.” Nevertheless, Russia protects its allies with it. The weapons served as a deterrent.
Kyiv did not claim responsibility for the attacks on Russian air bases, but welcomed them. Usually, the Ukrainian leadership does not comment on attacks on military targets on Russian territory.
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US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US government did not encourage the government in Kyiv to do so. We spoke very clearly with Ukraine about accountability in relation to weapons systems. “We have consistently expressed our concerns of escalation. We didn’t encourage them to do that,” Kirby said.
The federal government, on the other hand, expressed understanding. “Ukraine has a guaranteed right to self-defense, which is based on Article 51 of the UN Charter,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit, pointing out that Ukraine has been under attack from Russia for more than nine months. “Ukraine is under no obligation to confine defense efforts to its own territory.”
Officially no further mobilization planned
Also contributing to concern is the fact that the Belarus government announced on Wednesday that the country was moving troops and military equipment to counter a terrorist threat. President Alexander Lukashenko had already allowed Belarus to serve as a staging area for the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine. But he kept his own army out of it.
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In recent weeks, however, there have been increasing signs of Moscow becoming involved. On Saturday, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu flew unannounced to the capital Minsk. He and his Belarusian counterpart Viktor Khrenin signed amendments to the two countries’ security cooperation agreement. However, they did not disclose the new terms.
With a view to the 300,000 reservists already called up, Putin said that it currently makes no sense to mobilize more soldiers. 150,000 of them would currently be deployed in Ukraine. Putin again spoke of a “special operation” and said it could go on for a long time.
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