Ukraine war: Russia’s ‘propaganda warriors’ pushing for use of nuclear weapons, Nobel laureate warns
- Vladimir Putin has absolute power at home, and ‘nobody’ can stop him if he chooses to deploy the nukes, Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov says
- For two weeks, the Russian public has been hearing ‘from our television screens’ that nuclear silos should be opened, the journalist adds
Russian journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov decried Russian propaganda arguing for using nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict, warning that would signal “the end of humanity”.
“I would not rule out the possibility that nuclear weapons might be used,” Muratov told journalists in Geneva on Thusday, speaking through a translator.
The Kremlin said it had placed Russian nuclear forces on high alert soon after its invasion of Ukraine began on February 24.
And amid increasing Western support to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made thinly veiled threats hinting at a willingness to deploy Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons, which Russian military doctrine holds can be used to force an adversary to retreat.
Speaking at an event marking the World Press Freedom Day, Muratov, whose own Novaya Gazeta newspaper has been forced to suspend publication amid Moscow’s military intervention, warned that the Kremlin’s “propaganda warriors” were striving to make nuclear weapons use more palatable to the Russian public.
“For two weeks now, we have been hearing from our television screens that nuclear silos should be opened,” he said.