Russia's President Putin has warned of the increasing "danger of nuclear war". However, his Ukrainian counterpart sees the risk as rather low. Zelenskyy says Putin is too attached to his life. Should he die suddenly, it could lead to Russian defeat in the war.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about his plans for the post-war period with Russia. "I just want to go to the sea and have a beer," the 44-year-old said in a previously published interview with US show host David Letterman, according to Ukrainian media. However, that will only be possible after Ukraine's victory. "But I will be president until we win," said the head of state, who was elected in 2019, confidently.
At the same time, Selenskyj believes that a quick end to the war is possible if Russian President Vladimir Putin suddenly dies. Authoritarian regimes are tailored to one person. "When this person leaves, the institutions come to a standstill. Such a time was in the Soviet Union. Everything stopped," Zelenskyy claimed. With the death of 70-year-old Putin, Russia would first be preoccupied with itself.
Selenskyj therefore does not believe that Putin could use nuclear weapons. "He is aware that if he uses them, there will be personal consequences for him," emphasized the Ukrainian. Putin loves life too much to take that step.
According to its own statements, Russia does not intend to rapidly change its nuclear doctrine on the use of weapons of mass destruction. "There is no talk of any quick action in this regard," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Interfax agency. In the past week, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that Russia's doctrine calls for the use of nuclear weapons in response to such an attack.
At the same time, he pointed out that according to its doctrine, the USA could allegedly carry out first strikes. He made it clear that against this background, Russia must think about its own security. Putin's spokesman Peskov now explained that there is a constant process of reflection and analysis at expert level on the situation in the world.
According to Russia's 2020 nuclear doctrine, the use of nuclear weapons is only possible if the adversary first uses these or other weapons of mass destruction against Russia or its allies. The use of nuclear weapons is therefore also possible if Russia's existence is threatened by conventional weapons. Putin said last week that the "danger of nuclear war" was increasing.
In Russia, nuclear weapons served to protect the country and its allies, and as a deterrent. 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 US and NATO countries to stay out of the conflict. In view of the global outrage, Russia had recently significantly reduced its nuclear threats.
