Putin's Closest Aide: "Any Weapon, Including Strategic Nuclear Arms, Can Be Used"

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] On the 22nd (local time), the day after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a partial mobilization order and threatened nuclear action, a close aide to President Putin warned that strategic nuclear weapons could be used.

According to TASS news agency and others, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council, said on Telegram that "to defend Russian territory, including the newly annexed occupied areas, any weapons including strategic nuclear weapons can be used."

Nuclear weapons are classified into tactical nuclear weapons, which target localized objectives, and strategic nuclear weapons, which aim to destroy large cities or industrial complexes with maximum explosive power.

The previous day, President Putin warned that the West is threatening Russia with nuclear weapons and that Russia can use all means, emphasizing that "this is not a bluff."

As a result, some in the West expressed concerns that Russia might use tactical nuclear weapons on the Ukrainian battlefield.

Deputy Chairman Medvedev went a step further by specifically mentioning strategic nuclear weapons, which essentially imply nuclear war.

Medvedev also stated that if a referendum for territorial annexation is held in the occupied areas within Ukraine, the Russian military will significantly strengthen the defense of these regions. He added, "The referendum will be held and it is irreversible."

Medvedev further said, "NATO and Western countries must accept that Russia has chosen its own path."

In the Russian-occupied areas of eastern Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk provinces), southern Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson provinces, a referendum for territorial annexation to Russia is scheduled to be held from the 23rd to the 27th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.