"Will Use All Means Of Destruction Available": Putin Warns Ukraine On Using Nukes (image @TheBigBossPutin)

Moscow, Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Moscow would use all weapons at its disposal against Ukraine if it were to acquire nuclear arms. Speaking to reporters, Putin said if someone has initiated such a move officially, “then that would mean a violation of all the non-proliferation commitments they have made.”

The comments came a week after the New York Times reported that some unidentified Western officials had suggested US President Joe Biden could give Ukraine nuclear weapons before he leaves office. “If the country which we are essentially at war with now becomes a nuclear power, what do we do? We will use all means of destruction available to Russia,” said Putin at a presser in Kazakhstan.

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“If officially someone were to transfer something, then that would mean a violation of all the non-proliferation commitments they have made,” he further added.

Putin also said that it was practically impossible for Ukraine to produce a nuclear weapon, but that it might be able to make some kind of “dirty bomb,” a conventional bomb laced with radioactive material. If such is the case, Russia would respond appropriately, he said.

The Russian president also said that Moscow may use its new Oreshnik hypersonic missile to attack “decision-making centres” in Kyiv in response to Ukraine’s firing of Western missiles at Russian territory. Russia has not so far struck Ukrainian ministries, parliament, or the president’s office during its more than two-year-long war.

While Kyiv is believed to be heavily protected by air defences, Putin says the Oreshnik, which Russia fired for the first time at a Ukrainian city last week, is “incapable of being intercepted.”

“At present, the ministry of defence and the general staff are selecting targets. These could be military facilities, defence and industrial enterprises, or decision-making centres in Kyiv,” he said.

Putin also praised US President-elect Donald Trump as an experienced and intelligent politician. At the same time, Putin also said he did not believe he was safe. He said he had been shocked by the way the US election had unfolded. The leader also “the absolutely uncivilised methods used to battle against Trump, up to and including an assassination attempt—and more than once,” during the election campaign.

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He said US President Joe Biden had played a role in escalating the Russia-Ukraine war by allowing the latter to strike Russia with Western missiles. Putin speculated that it could be a ploy to either help Trump by giving him something to roll back or a way of making his life more difficult with Russia. Adding that Moscow is ready for dialogue, Putin said he is hopeful Trump would “find the solution.”