Russia, Putin ‘Will Resort To Nuclear Weapons’ If This Happens, Ex-Russian Minister Warns

Russian President Vladimir Putin may consider deploying nuclear weapons should he feel there is a threat against his country, a former Russian minister warned.

Speaking with Fox News, former Russian foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev said Putin could utilize nuclear weaponry in the event he feels there is an “existential threat” to Russia or to his administration.

“If Russia or one of those countries really threatened in their hearts – existentially, that is ... if NATO troops come to Moscow, then probably they will resort to nuclear weapons,” Kozyrev told Fox News Digital.

The former foreign minister, however, clarified that there is no existential threat to Russia at present.

Brent Sadler, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, suggested that Putin could use nuclear weapons if he suffers an “overwhelming military defeat” in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas.

“That might be the case where a tactical nuclear weapon might be considered to demonstrate resolve and basically reverse any trends going on in the Russian military,” Sadler said.

The warnings from foreign policy experts come after Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and one of Putin’s closest allies, on Thursday warned that they would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles if Finland and Sweden join NATO.

Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012, also warned that they would drop all talks of a “nuclear-free” Baltic in the event that Finland and Sweden join the U.S.-led military alliance.

Despite the threats, Kozyrev said Putin will not deploy nuclear weapons as long as he can maintain his regime, adding that the Russian president is unlikely to do anything that will threaten his position.

Officials from the U.S. and Ukraine have been preparing for the possible use of nuclear weapons in the war for the past few weeks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday told CNN’s Jake Tapper that Putin will deploy “any weapon” in the war. He also added that the lives of people meant “nothing” to Russia.

Since the war began on Feb. 24, it is estimated that Russia has killed 2,072 Ukrainian civilians and injured 2,818. The death toll included 169 children, according to estimates from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner.