Russia Would Only Use Nuclear Weapons if Its Existence Was Threatened, Kremlin Says

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Russia would only use nuclear weapons if it determined its existence as a nation was threatened, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN.

"We have a concept of domestic security, it's public, you can read all the reasons for [Russia's] nuclear arms to be used," Peskov said during the interview. "If it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be used in accordance with our concept."

Peskov stated that the Kremlin did not want to believe that no one would listen to its concerns until the very last moment. According to him, the Putin administration hoped that Ukraine would not prepare for strikes against the Donbass, and hoped that there would be a breakthrough in the Normandy format, but it became absolutely clear to Moscow that Kiev would go on the offensive against the Donbass.

The Kremlin spokesman reiterated that the Russian military does not strike civilian targets, and the purpose of the special military operation is not the "occupation of Ukraine."

Peskov added that the special military operation in Ukraine is going exactly according to plan, noting that no one at the Kremlin initially thought that the special military operation would take a couple of days, as this is what was described as a serious operation with serious goals.

Peskov also refuted claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin is angry with Ukrainians. He noted, however, that Putin is angry with people in Ukraine who want their country to become a NATO member and potentially deploy American missiles. Peskov also suggested that the Russian president is angry with those who would forbid the use of the Russian language, and who wanted to participate in the Minsk negotiation process for years without fulfilling obligations.

Peskov was responding to a CNN journalist saying that some experts believe that Putin may be angry with Ukrainians. She also cited Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, who, she suggested, spoke of Putin's "growing hatred" for Ukrainian leadership and the nation’s citizens.

Peskov replied that Putin "is not angry with the Ukrainians, and no one here in Russia is angry with the Ukrainians," adding that the Russian president is angry with those who "wear Nazi symbols on the streets of Kiev and Lvov."

Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. Putin at the time said its goal was "the protection of people who have been subjected to abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian president additionally asserted that a demilitarization and "denazification" of Ukraine must be performed to bring to justice war criminals responsible for "bloody crimes against civilians" in Donbass.

Later, the Russian Ministry of Defense added that the army is only targetting military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops, along with neo-Nazi militias.

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