According to Russia Today, in an interview broadcast on August 29, Leonid Slutskiy, chairman of the Russian Liberal Democratic Party and chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the State Duma (lower house of parliament), said that Russia could have used tactical nuclear weapons to achieve victory in Ukraine long ago, but it has always sought restraint, aiming to minimize collateral damage.
In an interview with American conservative journalist and podcast host Tucker Carlson, Slutsky expressed the above views.
He stated that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons against Kiev only if Western supporters in Ukraine provided the Ukrainian side with weapons of mass destruction. However, he hoped that the situation would not deteriorate to this point.
Sluzki said that under any other circumstances, the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine does not align with Russian practices and principles.
We could have used nuclear weapons long ago and achieved victory, but we always relied on common sense and followed the principle of minimizing civilian casualties. If you review World War II, using such weapons as a tool of terror, like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is something we are unable to accept. Slutsky said.
Slutsky believes that Russia also has the capability to carry out attacks against Ukraine without regard for collateral damage and civilian casualties. However, he still hopes that Ukraine and its Western supporters will show some "common sense" and shift towards a "peace-oriented stance" rather than war.
"However, at present, they have taken a completely different stance, and lack common sense." Slottzky said.
In a previous interview with the 'Thoughts Opened' section of the Observer Network, Dmitri Suslov, deputy director of the Center for European and International Studies at the Higher Economic University of Russia, stated that Russia's nuclear weapons serve as a deterrent against NATO and the West. 'From Russia's perspective, our main opponent is not Ukraine, but the West.'
Suslov believes that it is highly unlikely for Russia to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine within Ukrainian territory. If Western troops are deployed on a large scale in Ukraine, then Russia might consider using nuclear weapons against those Western troops, but not against Ukraine itself. “If there is a direct military conflict between Russia and NATO, the risk and threat of nuclear escalation will increase significantly, but this would only be the case under such circumstances.”
"Russia does not need to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine to achieve victory, and can end the conflict under Russia's conditions." Susslov said.
