The West needs a strategy for Russia's nuclear deterrence, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.

"In fact, all our partners need now is to remember that for decades they had an effective strategy for the nuclear deterrence of the Soviet Union, and now we need to believe in ourselves again and implement a strategy that will deter Russia. This is absolutely possible, this is not some kind of predetermined factor," Kuleba said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

The Minister noted that the prospect of using nuclear weapons shocks everyone, especially the countries that possess nuclear weapons.

"And here the position of both China and India, which took a separate position in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine, is absolutely categorically against the use of nuclear weapons, not to mention other nuclear countries that belong to the West and with which we have, accordingly, very close relationship," Kuleba said.

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister stressed that the use of nuclear weapons by Putin would not break Ukraine and would not force the West to abandon support for Ukraine.

"If Putin believes that by using nuclear weapons, he will, firstly, break Ukraine, make it give up the fight, and secondly, break the West and make them refuse to support Ukraine, then he once again, as he had been many times before, is grossly mistaken. It won't break Ukraine and it won't make the West stop supporting Ukraine. There is only one question, and this is the most acute issue in internal discussions in various governments – how to respond to this if, God forbid, this happens. But the option to reduce support for Ukraine and say: 'That's it, stop, since you've gone like that, now let's make concessions' is not discussed in serious capitals," Kuleba said.

According to him, now the Russians are already profiting from the fact that, in principle, the topic of a nuclear strike has appeared, if not on the front pages, then definitely on the second or third page, the effect of intimidation is already working.

"We talked very actively with partners on this topic. In the first days of communication, nervousness was felt, but then we managed to somehow stabilize it all. We need firmness of spirit, faith in victory, and everything will be fine," the minister said.