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Nobel Peace Prize winner Muratov at International Press Freedom Day in Geneva
Photo: Salvatore Di Nolfi / dpa
Russian journalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov has warned against taking Russian propaganda about a nuclear weapons use in Ukraine lightly.
"I would not rule out the possibility that nuclear weapons will be used," Muratov told journalists in Geneva on Tuesday at an event marking International Press Freedom Day.
The goal of the Kremlin's current propaganda is to make the use of nuclear weapons more acceptable to the Russian public, warned the editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
"For two weeks now, we've been hearing from our television stations that the nuclear silos should be opened," he said.
"And we also hear that if arms supplies to Ukraine continue, these terrible weapons should be used."
You can read an analysis of the dangers of Russian "tactical nuclear weapons" here: How likely is the use of nuclear weapons?
Contrary to what the propaganda claims, the use of such weapons "would not mean the end of the war," said Muratov: "It would be the end of mankind."
Muratov described the "absolute, unlimited" power of President Vladimir Putin as the most frightening development in Russia.
Should Putin decide to use nuclear weapons, "no one can stop him...neither parliament, nor civil society, nor the public."
Muratov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year together with the Filipino journalist Maria Ressa for his services to freedom of expression.
At the end of March, his newspaper was forced to cease publication after being repeatedly warned by the authorities for its coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
After the invasion of Ukraine, Russian media were instructed to only use official information from the Russian authorities for their reporting.
Terms such as "attack" or "invasion" in connection with the invasion of Ukraine are prohibited.
The authorities simply portray the war of aggression against Ukraine as a "special operation" by the military and a peacekeeping mission to protect Russian-speaking Ukrainians.
ok/AFP