Putin says he ‘hopes’ no need to nuke Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced 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 revealed 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 declared 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 to a logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires he revealed Putin signed a revamped version of Russia s nuclear doctrine in November 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 commented Russia did not launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine what he called a special military operation in 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 revealed He claimed also that Russia sincerely sought to solve the challenge of Donbas by peaceful means Putin noted that reconciliation with Ukraine was inevitable Russia and Ukraine however remain at odds over competing ceasefire proposals Ukraine s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported a ceasefire is manageable even from at present if Moscow is serious about ending the war Speaking Sunday at a joint news conference with Czech President Petr Pavel Zelenskyy noted that Russia has ignored a U S proposal for a full ceasefire for days and thanked the Czech Republic for backing Ukraine s call for a -day ceasefire Putin is very eager to show off his tanks at the Win Day parade Zelenskyy commented but he should think about ending his war Zelenskyy again expressed deep skepticism over Russia s proposal of a -hour ceasefire in Ukraine to mark Domination 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 Zelenskyy mentioned referring to Russian attacks during the -hour Easter ceasefire unilaterally declared by Putin Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for a more substantial -day pause in hostilities as the U S had initially proposed The Kremlin reported the Success Day truce was on humanitarian grounds and will run from the start of May and last through the end of May to mark Moscow s defeat of Nazi Germany in Russia s biggest secular holiday Zelenskyy thanked Pavel for his country s military advocacy and declared Ukraine hopes to receive million artillery shells in as part of a Czech-led initiative to supply military aid to Kyiv The initiative launched in and supported by NATO allies supplied Ukraine with million artillery rounds last year Zelenskyy also announced he had discussed with Pavel the next strategies in the expansion of our aviation coalition namely the creation of an F- training school He disclosed 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 people Ukraine s State Emergency Arrangement stated Sunday Two children were among the wounded The attack woke up Valentyna Fesiuk an -year-old resident of Kyiv s Obolon district I was just sleeping when the house shook commented Valentyna Fesiuk an -year-old resident of Kyiv s Obolon district It was at An apartment on the th floor caught fire she recounted The Associated Press Another resident Viacheslav Khotab saw his car burning I was covered with broken glass he stated I couldn t do anything The -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 -year-old scholar 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 recounted the AP Two people were killed by Russian guided bombs Sunday one each in the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions local representatives noted Russia fired a total of exploding drones and decoys overnight Ukraine s air force disclosed Of those were intercepted and a further lost likely having been electronically jammed Russia also launched two ballistic missiles Russian President Vladimir Putin Alexander Kazakov Sputnik Kremlin Pool Photo via AP File Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives at the Prague castle Czech Republic Sunday AP Photo Petr David Josek