Ukraine slams Russia’s remark on use of nuclear weapons: ‘Unacceptable’

Ukraine on Sunday slammed Russia’s remarks on the ‘possible use of nuclear weapons’ amid the ongoing war. Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the Kremlin’s statements were “absolutely unacceptable”. He further asserted that “Ukraine will not give in”.

“Putin’s and Lavrov’s irresponsible statements on the possible use of nuclear weapons are absolutely unacceptable. Ukraine won’t give in. We call on all nuclear powers to speak out now and make it clear to Russia that such rhetorics put the world at risk and will not be tolerated,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials, including foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, have mentioned nuclear weapons as an option in extremis.

Putin has stated that he will use “all means at our disposal” to defend its territory – which is now interpreted as a “nuclear threat” to countries not to escalate their involvement in Ukraine.

In his rare address last week, the Kremlin said that the “decree on the partial mobilisation of its 2 million-strong military reserves has been signed to fight the war in Ukraine”. According to him, the announcement was taken to “defend the motherland, its sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Russia.

“We are talking about partial mobilisation, that is, only citizens who are currently in the reserve will be subject to conscription, and above all, those who served in the armed forces have a certain military specialty and relevant experience,” Putin had said.