West should create new strategy of Russia’s nuclear deterrence, Ukraine should be part of it

Former Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"We need a collective unified Western response, a new logic of deterrence. We definitely need to raise the stakes, particularly in the nuclear sphere. People like Putin understand force very well," he said.

According to Klimkin, the West has already begun the process of rearmament - "it should be a tsunami wave that will destroy Russia even more than the USSR."

"The West has to say: 'Now we realize that we are in the 21st century and our answers are the answers of the 21st century. Without us, they will not get our values and our way of life.’ Therefore, there should be a new strategy of nuclear deterrence of Russia, and we should be a part of it. We have to talk about it. If the West does not respond to Putin's statements before the NATO summit with dignity, it will be a blow to Western solidarity. We have to say this directly," the former minister summarized.

• Vladimir Putin said that a storage facility for Russian tactical nuclear weapons will be completed in Belarus by July 1.

• The Institute for the Study of War reported that Putin announced the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus in order to intimidate the West and reduce the effectiveness of Ukraine's counteroffensive.

• NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said that the placement of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus will make Putin more unpopular in Belarus. Mykhailo Podolyak noted that this step proves that Putin is afraid of losing the war.

• Vladimir Putin said that a storage facility for Russian tactical nuclear weapons will be completed in Belarus by July 1.

• The Institute for the Study of War reported that Putin announced the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus in order to scare the West and reduce the effectiveness of Ukraine's counteroffensive.

• Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said that the placement of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus makes Putin more unpopular in Belarusian society. Mykhailo Podolyak noted that this step proves that Vladimir Putin is afraid of losing the war.

• The German Foreign Ministry criticized Russia's placement of nuclear weapons in Belarus and called it "an intimidation attempt."

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reacted to Russia's intentions to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus and demanded to convene the UN Security Council.

• In turn, the head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, said that if the Russian Federation deploys nuclear weapons in Belarus, the EU will introduce new sanctions.

• The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs called such an intention of the Russian president a step towards further drawing the country into the military machine.