DMITRY POLANSKY, THE RUSSIAN DEPUTY EMBASSY TO THE UNITED NATIONS, SAYS THE RUSSIAN RESERVES THE RIGHT TO USE NUCLEAR WEAPONS IF THE COUNTRY IS “PROVOKED” BY NATO.

Dmitry Polyanskiy spoke to Sky News in New York this morning after Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said his boss could use nuclear weapons if the country feels threatened on a “existential” level.

When asked if Putin is correct in threatening the rest of the world with nuclear war, Mr Polyanskiy responded, “If Russia is provoked by NATO, if Russia is attacked by NATO, why not, we are a nuclear power.”

“I don’t think it’s the right thing to be saying. But it’s not the right thing to threaten Russia, and to try to interfere.

“So when you’re dealing with a nuclear power, of course, you have to calculate all the possible outcomes of your behaviour.”