Russian TV Host Says Putin Already Has ‘Basis to Start a Nuclear War’

During a recent Russian-state media program, Russian TV host Vladimir Solovyov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin already has a “basis to start a nuclear war” based on the country’s current nuclear doctrine.

In August, amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Kyiv launched its own counteroffensive into Kursk—marking the first time Russian territory has been seized since World War II. However, Ukraine’s offensive sparked nuclear concerns from Moscow, which accused the Eastern European nation last month of attempting to attack a nuclear power plant using drones.

The conflict has long raised concerns about whether Russia could deploy nuclear weapons. Putin has repeatedly made eyebrow-raising statements about nuclear weapons amid the war as Moscow has more nuclear warheads than any other country, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICANW).

During the recent program, Solovyov warned about a nuclear response following Ukraine’s counteroffensive into Kursk, stating that Russia already has a “basis to start a nuclear war,” citing the country’s nuclear doctrine.

According to Reuters, the existing 2020 nuclear doctrine says Russia may use nuclear weapons in the event of a nuclear attack by an enemy or a conventional attack that threatens the existence of the state.

“We have a very simple problem. First, they were striking against our eyes that would detect a nuclear strike against Russia. According to our doctrine, this is already a basis to start a nuclear war against them,” Solovyov said in a translated video posted to YouTube on Saturday by the Russian Media Monitor watchdog group.

He added: “You say that everything is going according to plan. Pardon me, but the Nazi troops have invaded the territory of the Kursk region. This isn’t part of the plan. We have a clear and concise doctrine and we act according to it, including the use of nuclear weapons.”

The Kremlin has repeatedly attempted to justify its invasion by claiming a “neo-Nazi regime” is in charge in Kyiv. This has been emphatically rejected by Ukraine and the international community.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry via email for comment.

Solovyov’s remarks come after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned earlier this month that the Kremlin is changing its nuclear war policy in response to what it says is Western escalation in the ongoing war, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

Ryabkov told Tass that there is a “clear intent” to make changes to the nuclear doctrine, adding that the decision is “connected to our Western adversaries’ escalation course” in connection with the Ukraine conflict.

“As we have repeatedly said before, the work is in the advanced stage, and there is a clear intent to introduce a correction [to the nuclear doctrine], caused, among other things, by the examination and analysis of development of recent conflicts, including, of course, everything connected to our Western adversaries’ escalation course in regards to the special military operation,” Ryabkov said, but did not say when the updated nuclear doctrine would be ready.

This is not the first time Russians have warned of a nuclear response. Former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of Putin, issued a new nuclear response warning on Saturday stating that it would be a decision with “irreversible consequences.”

In a Saturday Telegram post, Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council and former Russian president, spoke about a nuclear response and said that it is a “hugely complex decision with irreversible consequences,” but warned that “you can only test someone’s patience for so long.”

“Yet, Russia has been patient. It is obvious that a nuclear response is a hugely complex decision with irreversible consequences. What arrogant Anglo-Saxon dimwits fail to admit, though, is that you can only test someone’s patience for so long,” Medvedev said.

He added: “It will turn out in the end that certain moderate Western analysts were right when they warned: ‘True, the Russians are not likely to use this response, although…it’s still a possibility. Besides, they may use new delivery vehicles with conventional payloads.’ And then—it’s over. A giant blot of molten-grey mass in the place where ‘the mother of Russian cities’ [historical name of Kiev] once stood. Holy s***, it’s impossible, but it happened…”

Responding to a previous inquiry from Newsweek, the U.S. Department of State dismissed the seriousness of Medvedev’s various statements.

“We know by now not to take Medvedev seriously,” a department spokesperson wrote. “This is standard Kremlin nonsense.”

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