Russian Nuclear Weapons Can Be Used to Defend Captured Ukraine Regions, Kremlin Warns

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and deputy security council chief Dmitry Medvedev attend a meeting with members of the government in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 15, 2020. Sputnik/Dmitry Astakhov/Pool via Reuters/File Photo

A top Russian official on Thursday warned that nuclear weapons could be used to defend annexed Ukrainian regions, days after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech announcing the partial mobilization of national forces.

“The Donbas republics and other territories will be accepted into Russia,” former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the current deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, wrote on Telegram. He was referring to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that were taken by Russia in 2014.