Russia’s defeat in the Ukraine conflict is “impossible,” and European hopes to the contrary are “craziness,” Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov said this week.
Alipov, speaking at an event, was dismissive of Western strategy, labeling the European belief in a Ukrainian victory as “childish” and “unprofessional.”
He then provided the basis for his assertion: Russia’s nuclear arsenal. “You can’t… take over us in this conflict simply because of our nuclear weapons,” he declared.
The ambassador noted that this is codified in Russia’s official military doctrine. The policy, he said, allows for the use of nuclear weapons if the state faces an “existential threat.”
He also opined on US politics, stating that Donald Trump “understands” this reality, claiming Trump knows the war is “lost by Ukraine and the West” even as the conflict nears the four-year mark.