Putin says he hopes Russia won’t need to nuke ISIS

Nearly three months after Russia began its own campaign against the Islamic State in Syria, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that he hopes his military won’t have to rely on nuclear weapons to wipe out the terror group.

“We must analyze everything happening on the battlefield, how the weapons operate,” Mr. Putin told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the Kremlin-funded television network RT reported this week.

That weaponry — specifically sea-based and airborne cruise missiles — has so far proved to be highly effective, the president said, but added that either could be “equipped with both conventional and special warheads, which are nuclear.”

“Naturally, this is not necessary when fighting terrorists and, I hope, will never be needed,” Mr. Putin said. “Overall, this speaks to our significant progress in terms of improving weaponry and equipment being supplied to the Russian army and navy.”

Russia began launching attacks in Syria against the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, on Sept. 30 following a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad. Those strikes have been waged separately from the campaign conducted by a U.S.-led international coalition since last year.

Stateside, however, U.S. officials has expressed skepticism over Mr. Putin’s claims about the effectiveness of Russia’s campaign. Brett McGurk, the White House’s special envoy for the international coalition, told reporters in Baghdad this week that “maybe 30 percent” of Russia’s strikes are actually attacking the terror group, while the rest are being waged against unaffiliated forces who share the common goal of removing Mr. Assad — one of the Kremlin’s top allies abroad.

Sergei Shoigu, the defense minister in Moscow, said this week that the Russian military has assaulted “300 targets of different kinds” in three days, and as of Tuesday has begun launching strikes from submarines in the Mediterranean.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday “there is no need to use any nuclear weapons against terrorists, as they can be defeated through conventional means, and this is fully in line with our military doctrine.”