Dmitry Polyansky, one of Russia’s top diplomats in the United States, spoke to Sky News after Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said his boss could press the nuclear button if the country felt it was facing an “existential” threatening. Asked if Putin was right in backing the prospect of a nuclear war in the rest of the world, Mr Polyanskiy said: “If Russia is being challenged by NATO, if Russia is being attacked by NATO, why not, we are a nuclear power. Follow the Daily Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker “I do not think it is right to say that. But it is not right to threaten Russia and try to intervene. So when it comes to a nuclear power, of course, you have to consider all the possible consequences of your behavior.” Watch live updates on the war in Ukraine Mr. Polyanskiy spoke to Sky News through Russia’s mission to the UN in New York, where pictures of Vladimir Putin adorn the walls, certainly one of the few places left in Manhattan where the Russian president would still be welcome. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:17 NATO warns Russia that a nuclear war “can not be won” Amid a sip of lemon tea, the deputy ambassador rejected an official statement by the US government that members of the Russian armed forces are guilty of war crimes in Ukraine. “I do not think we are committing war crimes in Ukraine,” Polyanskiy said. “Of course, it’s not up to me to evaluate. I’m not there. You’re not there. You look at the videos, you look at the many videos that are considered fake news. I believe one thing, I believe another.” Read more: Chemical war in Ukraine is ‘real threat’ right now, says Joe Biden I showed the deputy ambassador photographs taken by Associated Press reporters in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, showing apartment buildings hit by Russian rockets and the bodies of Ukrainian children being buried in narrow trenches, but he refused to acknowledge that Russia was responsible. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:44 Drone records the destruction of Mariupol He made the absurd claim that Ukraine is attacking its own buildings and citizens. “They were not targeted,” Mr Polyanskiy said. “We have said from the beginning that our army is not a threat to the civilian population of Ukraine.” Follow the Daily Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker It is up to the International Criminal Court to determine whether Russia is guilty of war crimes in Ukraine, but Russian diplomats are cutting back on more and more isolated elements with their savage allegations of fake news.
