Putin beordrar styrkor att gå in i Ukraina - INVASION NU (2022-02-24)

When asked what Putin thought he had achieved in Ukraine so far, Peskov answered: "Well, first of all, not yet. He hasn't achieved yet."

The spokesman also claimed that the "special military operation" -- the Kremlin's official euphemism for Russia's invasion in Ukraine -- was "going on strictly in accordance with the plans and the purposes that were established before hand."

Peskov also repeated Putin's demands, saying that the "main goals of the operation" are to "get rid of the military potential of Ukraine," to ensure Ukraine is a "neutral country," to get rid of "nationalist battalions," for Ukraine to accept that Crimea -- annexed by Russia in 2014 -- is part of Russia and to accept that the breakaway statelets of Luhansk and Donetsk "are already independent states."

In an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday, Dmitry Peskov repeatedly refused to rule out that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons against what Moscow saw as an "existential threat." When asked under what conditions Putin would use Russia's nuclear capability, Peskov replied, "if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be."

When asked what Putin thought he had achieved in Ukraine so far, Peskov answered, "Well, first of all, not yet. He hasn't achieved yet."

The spokesperson also claimed that the "special military operation" — the Kremlin's official euphemism for Russia's invasion in Ukraine — was "going on strictly in accordance with the plans and the purposes that were established before hand."