NATO on Russia’s nuclear threat: ‘The risk isn’t great, but we’re taking it very seriously’

Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO, does not believe that Russia will use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, he said during an interview with Turkish television channel NTV.

“The risk of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine is not great, but the consequences would be enormous, so we’re taking it very seriously,” he said.

According to Stoltenberg, Russia’s behavior is irresponsible and reckless. He noted that the use of nuclear weapons would change the essence of the war in Ukraine. “There are no winners in a nuclear war,” the secretary general added.

Follow Meduza in English on Twitter to stay up to date.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has hinted since the very beginning of the war in Ukraine about the possible use of nuclear weapons. In September, he emphasized that he “wasn’t bluffing.” However, at the end of October he said “it makes no sense, political or military” to launch a nuclear strike on Ukraine.

According to the New York Times, Russian military leaders held meetings in October on the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Also in October, Russian defense minister, Sergey Shoigu, and head of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, told the US, UK, China, and other countries that Ukraine was planning a false flag attack with a “dirty bomb.” The IAEA later checked the sites that Russia indicated as potential places where the bomb could be developed – the agency found no evidence to confirm the Russian military’s claims.