Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of trying to provoke him into using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, in comments in a Russian state television documentary film about his 25 years in power.
“They wanted to provoke us; they wanted to make us make mistakes,” he said in the film “Russia. Kremlin. Putin. 25 years.”
However, there was no need to use nuclear weapons, the Russian leader said.
“And I hope that this will not be necessary in the future either.”
Russia has sufficient forces and means to achieve everything that was necessary for Moscow in the military operation that began in 2022, Putin said, referring to the year the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Putin and his leadership have repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine and its allies in the course of the war.
The U.S. government was under the impression that Moscow could be preparing to drop a nuclear bomb in the autumn of 2022, according to reports.
Washington delivered a stern warning to Russia through diplomatic channels at the time.
The test attack with a new Russian medium-range missile on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in November 2024 is also considered a nuclear threat.
Three people were killed by Ukrainian attacks in the Kursk border region, local governor Alexander Khinshtein said on Monday.
Two women died when a Ukrainian drone hit a car carrying five people, the official wrote on Telegram.
One man and two other women suffered bruises and abrasions.
One man was killed in another attack on a car, according to Khinshtein.
Following the surprise Ukrainian advance into the region last summer, the Russian military claimed at the end of April that Kursk had been “completely liberated.”
However, Kiev rejects this and says it still holds part of the territory.
“The buffer zone that the Ukrainian defense forces have created in the border areas remains relevant now,” Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi posted on Facebook.
The operation, which has been ongoing for nine months, had achieved most of its objectives, Syrskyi claimed.
On Monday morning, Russian military bloggers reported a new advance by small Ukrainian units into the Kursk region near the village of Tyotkino.
The reports have not yet been officially confirmed in Moscow or Kiev.
Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for more than three years.
As part of its defensive campaign, it has also been attacking targets in Russia, resulting in deaths and injuries.
The casualties and damage are dwarfed by the devastating consequences of Russia’s war on the Ukrainian side.
Early on Monday, Russian authorities reported a drone attack in the Moscow region, with four unmanned aerial vehicles shot down over the city of Podolsk, south of the capital.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that the drones were destroyed by Russian air defences.
There was no damage or injuries at the crash site, he said, citing initial information.
There have been ongoing diplomatic efforts by the United States to broker a ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently proposed an unconditional 30-day truce, a plan Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accepted.
However, Putin has rejected the offer.
Instead, Putin has declared a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire to coincide with the annual Victory Parade on Moscow’s Red Square – which marks the end of World War II and is celebrated in Russia on May 9.
The ceasefire is scheduled to start at 12 a.m. Thursday (2100 GMT Wednesday) and end at 12 a.m. on Sunday (2100 GMT Saturday).
Kiev has rejected the limited pause and demanded that the ceasefire be extended to 30 days.
“The Russians are asking for a ceasefire on May 9 and are themselves firing at Ukraine every day.
This is cynicism of the highest order,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram on Sunday. (dpa/NAN)
