Russia Will Not Dare To Use Nuclear Weapons In Event Of AFU Offensive On Crimea - Dutch Prime Minister Rutte

Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, is confident that Russia will not dare to use nuclear weapons in the event that Ukraine liberates the occupied Crimea militarily.

He said this in an interview with the Ukrainian Pravda, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"I think Russia understands that if they use nuclear weapons, the United States will strike back, and this response will be much more powerful. The U.S. is so stronger than Russia that it simply cannot take that risk," Rutte said.

Asked if there would be resistance from the Netherlands if Ukraine were to liberate Crimea militarily, Rutte said that Ukraine should win and only decide what to do and what tactics to choose.

"I will not tell Volodymyr Zelenskyy what to do. We want Ukraine to win this war, but choosing tactics - where to start, what to do - should be your decision. We cannot decide this for Ukraine," the Dutch Prime Minister said.

Rutte noted that the Netherlands wants to help Ukraine in the fight against the aggressor and therefore provides it with significant military support.

'You're so brave. What you did last year is incredible," he added.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in January, the Dutch publication NOS reported that the Netherlands would transfer two launchers of the MIM-104 Patriot anti-aircraft missile system to Ukraine.

The Cabinet of Ministers decided to start preparing a personnel reserve for the Crimea.

In December, the head of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, said that the Crimea annexed by Russia would be returned in a combined way - through military force and diplomacy.