At a nuclear nonproliferation gathering, Russian diplomat Alexander Trofimov dismissed "utterly unfounded, detached from reality and unacceptable speculations that Russia allegedly threatens to use nuclear weapons, particularly in Ukraine."
Within days of Russia's Feb. 24 invasion, Putin put the country's deterrence forces - which include nuclear arms - on high alert, mentioning what he called aggressive statements by NATO leaders and Western economic sanctions against Moscow.
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Trofimov, a senior diplomat in the nonproliferation and arms control department of Russia's foreign ministry, said Moscow would only use nuclear weapons in response to weapons of mass destruction or a conventional weapons attack that threatened the existence of the Russian state.
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"None of these two hypothetical scenarios is relevant to the situation in Ukraine," Trofimov told the U.N. conference to review the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
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Still, he blamed NATO countries for a "fierce hybrid confrontation" against Russia that now "dangerously balances on the edge of open military clash."
"Such a move would be able to trigger one of the two emergency scenarios described in our doctrine," Trofimov said. "We obviously stand for preventing this, but if Western countries try to test our resolve, Russia will not back down."
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Russia on Tuesday accused the United States of influencing the Ukraine war.
Moscow said it responded to comments by a Ukrainian official about how Kyiv had used U.S.-made and supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers based on what the official called excellent satellite imagery and real-time information.
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President Putin said there could be no winners in a nuclear war and no such war should ever be initiated.
Putin made the comment in a letter to participants of a conference on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), more than five months into his war on Ukraine.
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"We proceed from the fact that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be unleashed, and we stand for equal and indivisible security for all members of the world community," he said.
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International concern about the risk of a nuclear confrontation has heightened since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. In a speech at the time, Putin pointedly referred to Russia's nuclear arsenal and warned outside powers against any attempt to interfere.
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