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

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said 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 said 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 said: "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 2022 to a logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires,” he said.

Putin signed a revamped version of Russia’s nuclear doctrine in November 2024, 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 said Russia did not launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine - what he called a "special military operation” - in 2014, 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 said. He claimed also that Russia "sincerely sought to solve the problem of Donbas by peaceful means.”

Putin said that reconciliation with Ukraine was "inevitable."

Russia and Ukraine, however, remain are at odds over competing ceasefire proposals.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said a ceasefire is possible "even from today” if Moscow is serious about ending the war.

Speaking Sunday at a joint news conference with Czech President Petr Pavel, Zelensky noted that Russia has ignored a US proposal for a full ceasefire for 54 days and thanked the Czech Republic for backing Ukraine’s call for a 30-day ceasefire.

"Putin is very eager to show off his tanks at the (Victory Day) parade,” Zelenskyy said, "but he should think about ending his war.”

Zelensky again expressed deep skepticism over Russia’s proposal of a 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to mark Victory Day in World War II, saying Moscow continues to launch hundreds of assaults despite publicly signaling interest in a partial truce.

"Even during Easter, despite promises - including to the United States - Russia carried out more than a hundred assaults,” Zelensky said, referring to Russian attacks during the 30-hour Easter ceasefire unilaterally declared by Putin.

Zelensky has repeatedly called for a more substantial 30-day pause in hostilities, as the US had initially proposed.

The Kremlin said the Victory Day truce was on humanitarian grounds and will run from the start of May 8 and last through the end of May 10 to mark Moscow’s defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 - Russia’s biggest secular holiday.

Zelensky thanked Pavel for his country’s military support and said Ukraine hopes to receive 1.8 million artillery shells in 2025 as part of a Czech-led initiative to supply military aid to Kyiv. The initiative, launched in 2024 and supported by NATO allies, supplied Ukraine with 1.5 million artillery rounds last year.

Zelensky also said he had discussed with Pavel "the next steps in the development of our aviation coalition"," namely the creation of an F-16 training school. He said that such a base could not be opened in Ukraine because of Russian attacks.

A Russian drone attack overnight on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, wounded 11 people, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said Sunday. Two children were among the wounded.

The attack woke up Valentyna Fesiuk, an 83-year-old resident of Kyiv's Obolon district.

"I was just sleeping when the house shook," said Valentyna Fesiuk, an 83-year-old resident of Kyiv’s Obolon district. "It was at 12:30. An apartment on the 12th floor caught fire," she told The Associated Press.

Another resident, Viacheslav Khotab, saw his car burning. "I was covered with broken glass,” he said. "I couldn’t do anything.”

The 54-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 18-year-old student 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 told the AP.

Two people were killed by Russian guided bombs Sunday, one each in the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions, local officials said.

Russia fired a total of 165 exploding drones and decoys overnight, Ukraine’s air force said. Of those, 69 were intercepted and a further 80 lost, likely having been electronically jammed. Russia also launched two ballistic missiles.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 13 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Associated Press