Russia, on Wednesday, issued a neutral statement indicating that they are softening their nuclear rhetoric over Ukraine. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin and others had evoked fears that the Kremlin was planning to use their tactical nuclear weapons.

As per the latest statement posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry website, Russia strictly follows the principle and always believes that there is no way a nuclear war can be won, and hence it must never be fought.

The Ministry went on to add that the Russian nuclear doctrine was crystal clear and there is absolutely no place for misinterpretation sending out signals that Moscow may be trying to reverse those many statements calling the doctrine into question.

Russia Softens Its Rhetoric On Nuclear Weapons In Regards To Ukraine

As part of the statement, there was also an appeal for discussions regarding the kinds of security guarantees the country had demanded from NATO before its invasion of Ukraine back in February.

By reiterating its long-standing policy regarding the use of nuclear weapons, Russia apparently indicates that they are easing the escalatory rhetoric they were using earlier in the month of October. For the last several weeks, Russia has been hinting about a possible nuclear attack, panicking people across the globe.

On 26th October, Vladimir Putin monitored drills conducted by Russia’s strategic nuclear forces. As part of the drills, several practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles also took place. Sergei Shoigu, the Defense minister of the country had reported to the President that the motive behind organizing these drills was to replicate a massive nuclear strike by Russia as a fitting reply in case an attack takes place against the country. This was followed by Putin’s warning that he is well prepared to fight against any attacks on Russia’s territory while reminding him about the country’s nuclear weapons.

On October 1st, Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia’s Chechen Republic, opened up his mind regarding the idea of a nuclear attack in the wake of Russia’s fading fortunes on the war front. On his Telegram channel, Kadyrov posted that it is time to take more drastic measures. He mentioned the need for the much-needed declaration of martial law in the border areas. Kadyrov also urged the use of low-yield nuclear weapons.

With around 6,000 warheads at its disposal, at an international level, Russia is only behind the US when it comes to its nuclear arsenal. All through the month of October, many prominent figures including Russia’s state television anchors and even top-ranking officials such as Dmitry Medvedev, the erstwhile President came up in the open urging for the use of nuclear weapons to protect the four regions of Ukraine, i.e. Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya that were annexed recently by Russia.

In an interview, John Kirby, Defense Department spokesman revealed that the United States still observes the scenario to the best of its abilities and there are no signs of Russia making preparations for the use of nuclear weapons.

In an earlier statement, Russian President Putin had referred to the use of nuclear weapons by the United States against Japan towards the end of the Second world war. This had ignited rumors that a nuclear attack is in the offing to win the war against Ukraine. 

Though rumors were rife last month regarding a nuclear attack, Western leaders had come up with sharp attacks against Moscow. As per their statement, the use of a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, even on a small scale, would cause a devastating response. As per the tweet by Jeffrey Lewis, an arms control expert, there is no likelihood of the Kremlin using nuclear weapons as the message from Western leaders was loud and clear.