Putin spokesperson refuses to rule out nuking Ukraine during CNN interview

A spokesperson for Vladimir Putin has refused to rule out if the Russian leader will use nuclear weapons in the war.

Speaking during an interview on CNN with news anchor Christiane Amanpour, Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said the option of Russia using nuclear weapons remains a viable one.

Peskov began by repeating the Kremlin propaganda we have heard throughout the war that Russia is waging on Ukraine and its people.

Next, host Amanpour directly asked Peskov: “I need to ask you this, because the world is afraid, and I want to know whether Putin intends the world to be afraid of the nuclear option. Would he use it?”

Peskov responded that it is Putin’s wish to make the world see and understand Russia’s concerns.

He responded: “President Putin intends to make the world listen to and understand our concerns.

“We have been trying to convey our concerns to the world, to Europe, to the United States, for a couple of decades, but no one would listen to us.”

Audibly irritated by the propaganda Peskov repeated, Amanpour tried one last time to get a direct answer about the possibility of nuclear weapon usage.

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She said: “I want to ask you again. Is president Putin, because, again, the Finnish president said to me that when he asked Putin directly about this, because president Putin has laid that [nuclear] card on the label, president Putin said that, if anybody tries to stop him, very bad things will happen.

“And I want to know whether you are convinced or confident that your boss will not use that option.”

Peskvov responded” “Well, we have a concept of domestic security, and, well, it’s public. You can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used.

“So, if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be used, in accordance with our concept. There are no other reasons that were mentioned in that text.”

By the end of the frustrating interview, Amanpour was still not sure she’d "got a full answer" from Peskov, but added, “I’m just going to assume president Putin wants to scare the world and keep the world on tenterhooks”.

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