Russia will continue to resort to nuclear blackmail – intelligence

The Russians will continue to use nuclear blackmail because it is one of the elements of pressure on Ukraine.

"As for the use of nuclear blackmail, this is not the first time. This blackmail exists and will be used further by Russia because it is one of the elements of pressure on us and the world community," Vadym Skibitsky, deputy chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, said during the United News telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to him, Russia is taking measures to improve the infrastructure, inspecting those objects that are in the territory of Belarus.

"We, as military intelligence, understand what activities they conducted all the time in the occupied territories of Crimea, and even before the occupation. Because the Russian Federation, and its Black Sea Fleet, practiced during exercises the delivery of nuclear munitions from the territory of the Russian Federation to the Crimean Peninsula," Skibitsky noted.

All these procedures are known, the intelligence understands how this happens, especially if it concerns mobile missile bases, precisely those where ammunition is stored, he added.

When asked about Russia’s nuclear arsenal, Skibitsky said that the Russians were trying to modernize it.

"The extent to which the Russian Federation is ready to use [its nuclear arsenal] will depend on many factors. But nevertheless, we clearly understand that, in particular, China told the Russian Federation about the non-use of nuclear weapons very specifically. Because everyone understands: the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons is one of the key elements of the overall global security system," Skibitsky said.