Peskov Fumed After Uncomfortable Question About Attacks On Moscow

• 18.05.2026, 8:47

Putin's spokesman went out of his way to respond.

Russian propaganda has unexpectedly embarrassed the official Kremlin by asking Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov a pointed question about Russia's inability to defend itself against Ukrainian drone attacks.

I am referring to a statement by Kremlin propagandist Pavel Zarubin, who, commenting on a large-scale attack on the Moscow region on May 17, publicly questioned the effectiveness of Russia's deterrence capabilities.

"People have a question, I think, inevitably: well, we have these powerful bombs, so what? It turns out that a nuclear power can be bitten and bitten," Zarubin said.

In response, Peskov did not comment directly on the problem of the vulnerability of Russian territory to drone strikes and avoided the question.

In lieu of a specific explanation, he said that nuclear weapons are considered solely as an instrument of strategic deterrence and can be used only in case of a threat to the very existence of the state.

Thereby, the Kremlin spokesman actually avoided answering the question about why Russia's possession of nuclear weapons is a threat to the very existence of the state.