Russia would be forced to use nuclear weapons if a counteroffensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces were successful and led to the retaking of certain Russian territories, according to a post from Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, on his Telegram channel.
“If we imagine that the Ukrainian offensive with NATO support was successful and they took part of our territory, we would have to resort to the use of nuclear weapons under the rules of the decree of the Russian President of 2 June 2020,” the former president said, stressing that Moscow will have no other choice.
According to Reuters, Medvedev was probably referring to the 2020 Russian nuclear doctrine, which states that in case of an attack with conventional weapons that threaten the existence of the Russian state, nuclear weapons can be used in response.
“There simply wouldn’t be any other solution,” Medvedev added. “Our enemies should pray to our fighters that they do not allow the world to go up in nuclear flames.”
In September, Medvedev had warned that strategic nuclear weapons could be used to defend newly incorporated Russian territories taken from Ukraine.
The former Russian president also said in January that if Russia was defeated, it would lead to nuclear war.
“The loss of a nuclear power in a conventional war can provoke the outbreak of a nuclear war,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram at the time. “Nuclear powers do not lose major conflicts on which their fate depends. This should be obvious to anyone. Even to a Western politician who has retained at least some trace of intelligence.”
