No 'military need' to use nuclear arms in Ukraine, says Russia

According to Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, there is no military need for Russia to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. At an international security conference in Moscow, Shoigu stated, "From a military point of view, there is no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine to achieve the set goals."

Shoigu denounced as "absolute lies" reports in the media that suggested Russia may deploy nuclear or chemical weapons to make up for its nearly six-month military campaign in Ukraine moving slowly. General Jim Hockenhull, head of British military intelligence, told the BBC in an interview that was made public on Friday that the likelihood of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine could vary if the battlefield dynamic changes. 

The primary goal of Russian nuclear weapons, according to Shoigu, is to thwart a nuclear assault. Its application is restricted to exceptional situations. These scenarios include an attack using a weapon of mass destruction or a conventional weapon that "threatened the existence of the Russian state," according to Russian ambassador Alexander Trofimov, who spoke at the UN's nuclear non-proliferation conference earlier this month.

Days after beginning what the Kremlin refers to as a "special military operation" in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin put Russia's nuclear forces on high alert, escalating concerns that the country would use its arsenal there. Mac William Bishop, a senior journalist, who is present in the area, stated that he is "watching events at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant closely."

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a "catastrophe" at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor in southern Ukraine would put all of Europe in danger.

Russian troops stormed the plant, which is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, at the beginning of March, not long after Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine. Zaporizhzhia has been the focus of several military operations since the end of July, with Moscow and Kyiv each blaming the other for the shelling. 

Last Thursday, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss the fighting at the plant. Russia is allegedly utilising the factory as a base for potential strikes and to store weapons, according to Ukraine.