Earlier, Putin hinted at the use of nuclear weapons against countries he considered a threat to Russia. Back in February, the President of Russia said in a statement on television“Whoever tries to stand in our way, let alone create threats to our country and our people, they must know that Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be such as you have not seen in your entire history. “

Then he said to televised meeting with representatives of the Russian defense department that “officials of the leading NATO countries allowed themselves aggressive comments against our country, in connection with which I hereby order the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff to put the Deterrence Forces of the Russian Army on alert.”

When asked what Putin, in his opinion, has already achieved in Ukraine, Peskov replied: “Well, first of all, not yet. I haven’t achieved it yet.”

The spokesman also said the “special military operation” — the Kremlin’s official euphemism for the Russian invasion of Ukraine — was “carried out strictly in accordance with predetermined plans and objectives.”

Peskov also reiterated Putin’s demands, stating that the “main goals of the operation” are “to get rid of Ukraine’s military potential”, to ensure the status of Ukraine as a “neutral country”, to get rid of “nationalist battalions”, for Ukraine to recognize that Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014 , is part of Russia, and recognize that the breakaway states of Lugansk and Donetsk “are already independent states.”

He also said that Russia had only hit military targets, despite numerous reports of Russian airstrikes on civilian targets sheltering ordinary Ukrainians.

The interview comes after Western intelligence reports that Russian operations in parts of Ukraine have stalled.