The world’s five big nuclear powers are teetering “on the brink of a direct armed conflict”, Russia has claimed, warning of catastrophic consequences.
Blaming the West for “provocation”, Moscow ramped up the nuclear rhetoric, pinpointing “irresponsible and impudent actions aimed at undermining our national security”.
The statement by the foreign ministry said avoiding a nuclear clash was the country’s first priority, and that Russia stood by a joint declaration with the US, China, Britain and France in January affirming their joint responsibility for avoiding a nuclear war.
But it warned that the West must stop “encouraging provocations with weapons of mass destruction, which can lead to catastrophic consequences”.
It added: “We are strongly convinced that in the current complicated and turbulent situation, caused by irresponsible and impudent actions aimed at undermining our national security, the most immediate task is to avoid any military clash of nuclear powers.”
Moscow is behind a ramping up of nuclear rhetoric since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, Western officials say, most recently by repeatedly accusing Kyiv of planning to use a radioactive “dirty bomb” without offering evidence. Kyiv has denied having any such plan.
“We fully reaffirm our commitment to the joint statement of the five nuclear-weapon states’ leaders on the prevention of nuclear war and the avoidance of an arms race from January 3 2022,” the ministry said.
During the first weekend of the war, Russian president Vladimir Putin placed the country’s strategic nuclear weapons forces on high alert, and has since repeated the threat as a warning to Nato.
Moscow has repeatedly said its military doctrine permits the use of nuclear weapons if Russia’s territorial integrity is under threat. In September, Mr Putin said he was “not bluffing” when he stated that Russia was prepared to use “all available means” to defend its territory.
He also claimed the US had created a precedent at the end of the Second World War when it dropped atomic bombs on Japan. Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of the Chechnya region and a key ally of Putin’s, called for Russia to use a “low-yield nuclear weapon” in Ukraine.
Moscow also frequently accuses Kyiv of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, and alleged at the start of the war that Nato planned to use Ukraine as a bridgehead to threaten Russia – allegations denied by Ukraine and the Western military alliance.
Some Western experts fear Mr Putin may resort to nuclear weapons as an easy victory looks out of reach for him.
They believe the president has been weakened, making Russia potentially more dangerous and with no obvious signs of a “plan B”.
At the time of the Ukraine invasion, Russia’s nuclear stockpile was estimated by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists at around 4,477 warheads, of which about 1,588 were strategic warheads that could be deployed on ballistic missiles and at heavy bomber bases, with around 977 strategic warheads and 1,912 non-strategic warheads held in reserve.
Responding to speculation in August that the Kremlin might resort to nuclear weapons, Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, described it as an “absolute lie”.
“From a military point of view, there is no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine to achieve the set goals. The main purpose of Russian nuclear weapons is to deter a nuclear attack,” he said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
