Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the question of Russian President Vladimir Putin using nuclear weapons against Ukraine would arise only if Russia's front lines begin to collapse and the Kremlin leader concludes that his regime is under real threat.

Axar.az reports, citing Ukrainian media, that Kuleba said there is no reason to believe that Ukrainian drone or missile strikes on Moscow or St. Petersburg would immediately prompt Putin to resort to nuclear weapons.

"The question of nuclear weapons will arise when the Russian front in Ukraine, including Crimea, begins to collapse and Putin decides there is a real threat to his regime. Then the question will be whether to use nuclear weapons or not," Kuleba said.

He also argued that several factors make such a scenario unlikely, including the absence of any guarantee that a nuclear strike would force Ukraine to capitulate.