Nuclear Weapons Talk 'Irresponsible', Warns Putin Ally

Talk of using nuclear weapons in Russia's war in Ukraine is "irresponsible," Alexander Dugin, an influential ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, warned on Thursday.

"I think this is an extreme case. I believe that we are far from having exhausted all the possibilities of victory without the use of nuclear weapons," the Russian political commentator told news outlet Fontanka on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Form.

Dugin, 61, has been credited with being a key architect of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. His daughter, political activist Darya Dugina, was killed in a car bomb attack in August 2022. He was responding to comments from Kremlin adviser Sergey Karaganov, who wrote in a recent article that Russia could use nuclear weapons on Europe to break Western support for Ukraine.

"But of course, I understand, as our president said, that there will be no world without Russia at all. This needs to be taken seriously," Dugin continued.

Currently "it is irresponsible to talk about a nuclear apocalypse ahead of time," he said.

Dugin said people like Karaganov either "glorify Western civilization for decades" or they "become extreme Russian patriots."

"We have not yet exhausted everything to talk about nuclear weapons, but we must not forget about this either, this is the last way out. Everyone should understand that this is a last resort," he added.

In an article titled "A Difficult But Necessary Decision," published by Kremlin-linked website Russia in Global Affairs, Karaganov, chairman of Russia's Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, suggested his country should ramp up its nuclear rhetoric to push the West to "back down."

"This is a morally terrible choice—we use the weapons of God, dooming ourselves to severe spiritual losses. But if this is not done, not only Russia may perish, but, most likely, the entire human civilization will end," he wrote.

Putin said in a televised address to the nation in September 2022 that he'd be prepared to use nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory.

"If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will without doubt use all available means to protect Russia and our people—this is not a bluff," the Russian leader said at the time.

Many fear that Ukraine attempting to recapture Crimea, which Putin annexed in 2014, would be a red line for Russia and that the Russian president may use his country's nuclear capabilities to defend the territory.

Boris Bondarev, a former Russian diplomat who resigned publicly over the invasion of Ukraine last year, told Newsweek in February that Putin's nuclear threats are a bluff.

"Today [Putin's] bluffing and we know that he has bluffed about nuclear threats. Ukrainians recovered some parts of their territory, and there was no nuclear retaliation," Bondarev said. "If you're afraid of Putin using nukes, then you already lose the war against him and he wins."

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