Russia has not ‘gone mad’ over nuclear weapons – but Putin won’t rule out first strike
Vladimir Putin has said “we haven’t gone mad” when asked about concerns he could use nuclear weapons in Ukraine – but didn’t rule out a possible first-strike if threatened.
The Russian president described the weapons as a deterrent, but reiterated his country would use “all the means at our disposal” to defend its interests if “peaceful means” were to fail.
It is the latest in a number of statements since the start of the war in which he has kept open the nuclear option.
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“We haven’t gone mad. We fully understand what nuclear weapons are,” Mr Putin told a member of the presidential Human Rights Council in televised comments.
“We have them, and they are more advanced and state-of-the-art than what any other nuclear power have,” he said.
“We aren’t going to brandish those weapons like a razor running around the world, but we naturally proceed from their existence.
“It’s a factor of deterrence, not a factor provoking an escalation of the conflict.”
The president none-the-less declined to rule out a theoretical first-strike, claiming it could stop Russia defending itself.
The president spoke of a ‘long process’ in Ukraine, suggesting no prospect of an imminent end to the war
He said Russia had a “launch on warning” doctrine, whereby Russia would fire nuclear weapons if targeted by an imminent nuclear attack – or by a conventional attack that threatened its existence.
“If it doesn’t use it first under any circumstances, it means that it won’t be the second to use it either, because the possibility of using it in case of a nuclear strike on our territory will be sharply limited,” the president said.
Many Western countries have previously criticised Mr Putin’s nuclear comments as dangerous.
However, he claimed on Wednesday he had been provoked by former UK prime minister Liz Truss when she spoke about her own readiness to use nuclear weapons.
He appeared to be referring to comments by Ms Truss in August in which she told a Tory hustings event she would be “ready” to use WMDs if necessary.
“I had to emphasise certain things in response,” said Mr Putin.
“Her comments went largely unnoticed, but they immediately emphasised our statements and used them to scare the world.”
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His remarks echoed ones from October, when he said Ms Truss was “a bit out of it” when she raised concerns over Russia’s nuclear capability in a UN speech.
Mr Putin also spoke about the status of the Ukraine war, where it has lost significant ground in recent months, and admitted it would likely be a “long process” – suggesting Russia has no plans to abandon the conflict any time soon.
He also tried to put to rest rumours of a second mobilisation next year, saying there was no need to conduct an additional call-up.
The Russian president said that of the 300,000 reservists drafted, about half had been sent to the zone of what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Some 77,000 were in combat units and the rest were performing defensive functions, he said.
Rumours have been growing among Russian opposition politicians and prominent pro-war Telegram channels of a second wave early next year.
Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”
The US president appeared aghast at the conduct of his counterpart in the Kremlin after drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.
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Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”
Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.
It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.
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Hundreds of drones fired at Ukraine
‘Shameful’ attacks
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.
In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.
Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.
Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.
The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.
Donald Trump says he will delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on goods entering the United States from the European Union until July, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a trade deal.
It comes after the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a post on social media site X that she had spoken to Mr Trump and expressed that they needed until 9 July to “reach a good deal”.
The US president had last Friday threatened to bring in the 50% tariffs from 1 June, as European leaders said they were ready to respond with their own measures.
But Mr Trump has now said that date has been put back to 9 July to allow more time for negotiations with the 27-member bloc, with the phone call appearing to smooth over tensions for now at least.
Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One for Washington DC, Mr Trump told reporters that he had spoken to Ms Von der Leyen and she “wants to get down to serious negotiations” and she vowed to “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out”.
The US president, in comments on his Truth Social platform, had reignited fears last Friday of a trade war between the two powers when he said talks were “going nowhere” and the bloc was “very difficult to deal with”.
Mr Trump told the media in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that Ms Von der Leyen “just called me… and she asked for an extension in the June 1st date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation”.
“We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested. She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” the US president added.
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Shortly after, he wrote on Truth Social: “I agreed to the extension – July 9, 2025 – It was my privilege to do so.”
On his so-called “liberation day” last month, Mr Trump unleashed tariffs on many of America’s trade partners. But since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.
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Much of his most incendiary rhetoric on trade has been directed at Brussels, though, even going as far as to claim the EU was created to rip the US off.
Responding to his 50% tariff threat, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
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