In a recent interview conducted by Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked if the West had heard his warning on Sept. 25 announcing the proposal to change Russia’s nuclear deterrence doctrine against allowing Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory, stating that it would mean a direct conflict between Russia and NATO. In his Sept. 25 meeting with the Security Council Standing Conference on Nuclear Deterrence, he said: “Thus, the draft Basic Principles expand the category of states and military alliances in respect of which nuclear deterrence is exercised…. The updated version of the document is supposed to regard an aggression against Russia from any non-nuclear state but involving or supported by any nuclear state as their joint attack against the Russian Federation.”
His interview with Zarubin yesterday was also covered by Sputnik news service. Putin calmly responded, “They did not report to me, but, I hope, they heard [my warning]. Because, of course, we will have to make some decisions for ourselves, too. The point is not whether they will allow someone to use this weapon against Russia. I have already talked about this in my very first statement.… Ukrainian forces cannot use this weapon independently. Only NATO specialists can do this, because to do this, they need space reconnaissance, which Ukraine does not have. Of course, we understand this….
