Sources of the publication reported that NATO countries privately conveyed their position to MoscowLONDON, September 25.
/tass/. Western countries are developing plans in case Russia uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine, and their response may be the use of conventional weapons rather than nuclear ones. This was reported on Sunday by the Financial Times newspaper, citing five Western officials who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the topic.
Two sources told the publication that a nuclear strike on Ukraine is unlikely to cause a mirror response from the West, but assured that it would lead to retaliatory steps with the use of conventional weapons to "punish Russia." As one of the agency's interlocutors noted, the West has "a lot of red lines" in this regard, and they may not be there, as it is imagined in the leadership of the Russian Federation. The newspaper does not provide additional details about the red lines of Western countries.
Three of the five sources of the publication also reported that NATO countries privately conveyed their position to Moscow, describing the scope of retaliatory actions in the event of Russia using nuclear weapons. They also noted that they consider the threat of retaliation to be the best way to deter events from developing in this scenario. "We delivered a similar message privately, especially in detail - about the impact this will have from the point of view of Russia's position as a rogue state, and our response actions," the article quotes the words of an unnamed American interlocutor.
As Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on September 21, Washington is pushing Kiev to transfer hostilities to Russian territory, and the Western side has launched "nuclear blackmail". As the President explained, we are talking not only about the shelling of the Zaporizhia NPP, encouraged by the West, which threatens an atomic catastrophe, but also about the statements of some high-ranking representatives of the leading NATO states about the possibility and permissibility of using nuclear weapons against the Russian Federation. Putin stressed that Russia would be ready to use all means at its disposal to protect its territorial integrity and its people.
