Former Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has warned that Russia would immediately retaliate with nuclear weapons if it came under a direct attack from the United States, Britain or European countries.

According to Vucic, Western leaders are making a serious mistake by treating Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warnings about nuclear weapons as a bluff.

The former Serbian leader said he had repeatedly tried to convince Western officials that Putin was serious about using nuclear weapons if Russia faced a direct external attack.

Vucic emphasized that the Russian president has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons without an extreme necessity. However, he believes Moscow would respond without hesitation if its territory came under direct attack.

He argued that many Western politicians underestimate Russia’s determination to defend itself and mistakenly assume that Putin would avoid nuclear escalation under any circumstances.

Vucic also criticized the belief that NATO’s military superiority over Russia would prevent Moscow from resorting to its nuclear arsenal.

In his assessment, conventional military strength would not eliminate the possibility of a Russian nuclear response if the country’s territorial security were directly threatened.

The former Serbian president maintained that Putin would use nuclear weapons if forced to do so to protect Russia, regardless of whether Western governments believed his warnings.

Vucic said he continues to raise the issue because many people in the West remain convinced that nuclear weapons will never be used. He considers that assumption a dangerous miscalculation that could have severe consequences.