Putin says he hopes there will be no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has revealed that the need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine had not arisen and that he hopes it will not In comments aired Sunday in a film by Russian state television about his quarter of a century in power Putin commented Russia has the strength and the means to bring the conflict in Ukraine to a logical conclusion Responding to a question about Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory Putin announced There has been no need to use those nuclear weapons and I hope they will not be required We have enough strength and means to bring what was started in to a logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires he explained Putin signed a revamped version of Russia s nuclear doctrine in November spelling out the circumstances that allow him to use Moscow s atomic arsenal the world s largest That version lowered the bar giving him that option in response to even a conventional attack backed by a nuclear power In the film Putin also commented Russia did not launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine what he called a special military operation in when it illegally annexed Crimea because it was practically unrealistic The country was not ready for such a frontal confrontation with the entire collective West he declared He claimed also that Russia sincerely sought to solve the predicament of Donbas by peaceful means Putin commented that reconciliation with Ukraine was inevitable wounded in attacks on Kyiv killed elsewhere Russia and Ukraine however remain are at odds over competing ceasefire proposals Ukraine s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Friday in comments made populace Saturday that Moscow s announcement of a -hour ceasefire in Ukraine to mark Mastery Day in World War II is merely an attempt to create a soft atmosphere ahead of Russia s annual celebrations Zelenskyy instead renewed calls for a more substantial -day pause in hostilities as the U S had initially proposed He declared the proposed ceasefire could start anytime as a meaningful step toward ending the war The Kremlin stated the truce was on humanitarian grounds and will run from the start of May and last through the end of May to mark Moscow s defeat of Nazi Germany in Russia s biggest secular holiday A Russian drone attack overnight on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv wounded people Ukraine s State Crisis Facility reported Sunday Two children were among the wounded The attack woke up Valentyna Fesiuk an -year-old resident of Kyiv s Obolon district I was just sleeping when the house shook revealed Valentyna Fesiuk an -year-old resident of Kyiv s Obolon district It was at An apartment on the th floor caught fire she communicated The Associated Press Another resident Viacheslav Khotab saw his car burning I was covered with broken glass he stated I couldn t do anything The -year-old was frustrated with stalled peace negotiations They can t agree on anything and we are the ones who suffer the consequences Daryna Kravchuk an -year-old aspirant in the district described how five to six minutes after the air raid was activated we heard a strong impact everything started shaking There were three strikes almost in a row after the air raid was activated It s very scary to witness we have been suffering from this for so long People are just suffering all the time It s still very hard to see our country constantly being destroyed she recounted the AP Two people were killed by Russian guided bombs Sunday one each in the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions local authorities commented Russia fired a total of exploding drones and decoys overnight Ukraine s air force explained Of those were intercepted and a further lost likely having been electronically jammed Russia also launched two ballistic missiles Russia s Defense Ministry stated its air defenses shot down Ukrainian drones overnight Follow AP s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https apnews com hub russia-ukraine Source