Putin Votes Against Nuclear War, Says It 'Should Never Be Unleashed'

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday voted against launching a nuclear war, adding that there could be “no winners” should such a war ever begin, a report said.

Putin made the comment in a letter addressed to participants at a U.N. conference on reaffirming the nuclear nonproliferation treaty (NPT), which began Monday.

“We proceed from the fact that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be unleashed, and we stand for equal and indivisible security for all members of the world community,” the Russian leader said in the letter, according to the New York Post.

Concerns about Russia possibly using nuclear weapons have grown in recent months amid the war in Ukraine. In February, Putin warned that interference from the West could bring “consequences you have never seen,” which was widely interpreted as a nuclear threat.

“Whoever tries to hinder us ... should know that Russia’s response will be immediate. And it will lead you to such consequences that you have never encountered in your history,” he was quoted as saying by NBC News.

Days later, Putin ordered Russia’s nuclear forces to be put on high alert, citing “aggressive statements” from the West as reasons.

“Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country,” Putin said in a televised address, as per The Associated Press.

In April, Russia also test-launched the Sarmat ICBM nuclear missile, dubbed the “Satan 2,” on the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. Moscow’s state-run media later mused about using the missiles to nuke England, New York City and other Western targets.

Russian authorities have not made direct threats of nuclear war over the past few months. However, some Russian officials have made veiled threats about the possibility. For instance, Viacheslav Volodin, the Head of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, earlier said that a nuclear conflict is possible if Poland provides nuclear weapons to Ukraine for use in the war.

Andrei Kozyrev, former Russian foreign minister, also warned that Putin could utilize nuclear weapons if there is an “existential threat” to his country or his administration.