Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed hope that nuclear weapons will not have to be used in Ukraine.

In an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin for a forthcoming documentary, excerpts of which were released by state media, Putin said his country has yet to have to use such weapons since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war that began on February 24, 2022.

"They (the West) wanted to provoke us, they wanted us to make mistakes. There was no need to use the weapons you just mentioned. And I hope there will be no need," the Russian leader said.

He said Moscow had enough forces and resources to bring the armed conflict to its "logical end" and with "the result Russia needs."

Putin said a truce between Russia and Ukraine was "inevitable," saying it was only "a matter of time" despite the "tragedies" experienced during the armed conflict, now in its fourth year.

The Russian president accused the West of wanting to "divide" the country into several parts in 2000, saying that their "geopolitical adversary acted very insidiously, saying one thing and doing something completely different."

Commenting on the Minsk agreements, a series of accords signed in 2014 and 2015 to ensure an end to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Putin said Russians had hoped the agreements would be honored when they were signed but were "deceived."

He further claimed that the West used the agreements as a "pause" to "rearm Ukraine and prepare for war with Russia."

"This is an experience for us as well. And we, of course, must take this experience into account in the future," Putin noted, claiming that they were "forced" to annex Crimea in 2014 because any other action would have meant "handing over" its people "to be torn apart." | BGNES