Defeat Not an Option for Moscow, Alipov Says, Citing ‘Existential Threat’ Clause

Defeat in the Ukraine war is not an option for Moscow, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov asserted this week, citing his country’s nuclear doctrine as the primary reason.
Alipov explained that Russia’s official policy allows for the use of nuclear weapons if the nation faces an “existential threat,” a threshold he implicitly linked to the ongoing conflict.
“You can’t, you know, take over us in this conflict simply because of nuclear weapons,” he said, making a direct connection between the war and the nuclear deterrent.
The ambassador, speaking at an event in Gurugram, used this to criticize European nations for their continued support of Kyiv. He called their hopes for a Ukrainian victory “childish” and “unprofessional.”
He also waded into US politics, claiming that Donald Trump “understands that this war is lost by Ukraine and the West,” contrasting this with what he termed European “belligerence.”