Photo: Satan-2 nuclear missile in a photo of its launch in April 2022
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the possible supply of nuclear weapons to Ukraine is a “suicidal” idea. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed that one of the motives for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was to prevent this scenario, Sky News reported.
According to Zakharova, the “irresponsible actions” of Ukraine and Western countries are allegedly pushing the world towards a catastrophe.
Application background
The debate over nuclear weapons escalated after The New York Times reported that Western officials had suggested that Ukraine could be given a nuclear arsenal before the end of Joe Biden’s presidential term.
The NYT notes that the transfer of nuclear weapons seized after the collapse of the USSR to Ukraine could be a “powerful deterrent”. However, this scenario raises concerns about the possible large-scale consequences.
Kremlin’s reaction
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called such discussions “absolutely irresponsible”. For his part, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia could consider Ukraine’s nuclear arming as direct aggression, which justifies a nuclear response.
Russia’s Nuclear Doctrine and the Sarmat Missile
Against the backdrop of these statements, Vladimir Putin amended Russia’s nuclear doctrine, lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. Russia also continues to test the RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile.
This missile, designed to transport nuclear warheads to the US or Europe, is facing delays in development and problems during testing, TASS reports.
