NATO chief tells Putin to stop 'nuclear saber-rattling' after Kremlin spokesperson wouldn't rule out using nukes

• NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg slammed Russia for being provocative with nuclear weapons.
• A Kremlin spokesperson said earlier Russia would use nukes if it felt existentially threatened.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Russia to stop "nuclear saber-rattling" amid its ongoing war against Ukraine.

"Russia must stop its nuclear saber-rattling. This is dangerous and it is irresponsible," Stoltenberg said during a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday.

He added: "We convey a very clear message to Russia that nuclear war can not be won and it could never be fought. It just highlights the importance of ending the war in Ukraine because we need to do everything we can to prevent the war from escalating beyond Ukraine and becoming even more deadly and even more dangerous than what we see today."

Stolenberg said any use of nuclear weapons will "fundamentally" change the dynamic of the conflict, and slammed Russia for "contradicting" its past remarks about avoiding a future nuclear conflict.

He also expressed his concern to reporters that Russia may consider launching a chemical or biological weapons attack against Ukrainians.

Stoltenberg's remarks came after Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia would only use nuclear weapons if its very existence was being threatened.

"We have a concept of domestic security, and, well, it's public. You can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used," he said in an interview with CNN on Tuesday. "If it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be used."

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his country's nuclear deterrent forces on high alert just days after he ordered troops to invade Ukraine, blaming his move on NATO and sweeping Western economic sanctions imposed.

In response, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said earlier in March that nuclear war is "within the realm of possibility," and urged Russia and Ukraine to find diplomatic solution to the conflict.

"Raising the alert of Russian nuclear forces is a bone-chilling development," Guterres said. "The prospect of nuclear conflict, once unthinkable, is now back within the realm of possibility."

Experts have increasingly expressed their concern that Putin may consider using nuclear weapons out of frustration that Russia's offensive in Ukraine has largely stalled, the victim of fierce Ukrainian fighters, powerful new weapons like anti-tank munitions and terrible planning and coordination by the Russian military.

Ukraine is not a NATO country but a nuclear strike against it to try to force its citizens into submission could compel NATO to respond, possibly with its own nuclear forces.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have increasingly targeted Ukrainian civilians and cities as peace talks between the two sides have yet to yield significant results.