Russia refuses to rule out nuclear weapon use

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov repeatedly refused to rule out on Tuesday any potential use of nuclear weapons, maintaining they could be considered as a response to an alleged "existential threat."

When asked about what conditions would warrant such a response, Peskov said "if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be." He did not elaborate further during an interview with CNN International's Christiane Amanpour.

“We have a concept of domestic security, and it’s public. You can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used,” Peskov said on Tuesday.

“So if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be used in accordance with our concept.”

The US Pentagon condemned Peskov's refusal earlier to rule out the use of nuclear weapons during the Ukraine conflict.

Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby said Moscow's nuclear remarks were “dangerous”.

"It's not the way a responsible nuclear power should act," he told reporters.

But Kirby added that Pentagon officials "haven't seen anything that would lead us to conclude that we need to change our strategic deterrent posture”.

"We monitor this as best we can every day," he added.

Putin put his country’s nuclear forces on special alert on 27 February, but Western defence officials said afterwards they had not seen any significant sign of Russia's strategic bombers, missiles and submarines being mobilised.

According to UN estimates, at least 953 civilians have been killed and around 1,557 others injured in Ukraine since Russia began its attack on its western neighbor. However, the United Nations has warned that the true toll is likely to be much higher because it has not been able to gain access to areas of heightened hostilities.

The war has also driven 10 million people from their homes, either internally or as refugees who fled abroad, according to the UN refugee agency.