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By Jordan King
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Vladimir Putin has spoken out about who might replace him, the possibility of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine and Moscow's annexation of Crimea in a rare interview.
The Russian president was interviewed by propagandist Pavel Zarubin in a film called "Russia. The Kremlin. Putin. 25 Years."
Why It Matters
It is fairly rare for Putin to sit down for in-depth interviews but recently he spoke to Zarubin, a prominent figure in Russian state media who is best known as one of the main Kremlin correspondents for the state-owned TV channel Russia-1.
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The pair recorded a series of interviews in the Kremlin in the spring of 2025, making an hour-and-a-half-long film.
It comes at a time when global tensions are high, with the Russia-Ukraine war one of the top concerns.
Last week, the U.S. appeared to step back from formal peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv, with the State Department calling on both parties to come up with "concrete proposals," saying it would no longer travel "around the world at the drop of a hat" for negotiations.
What To Know
Putin's Successor
There has long been speculation about who will succeed Putin, 72, who has been in power for a quarter of a century.
Putin said he is "constantly" thinking about who will replace him and is looking at multiple candidates.
"But ultimately the choice is up to the people, the Russian people, the citizens, the voters," he said, according to a report by the independent Russian news outlet Meduza.
"A person who does not have the people's trust is unlikely to have a chance to do something serious," he added. "This is an absolutely fundamental issue."
Crimea
Putin repeated his long-held belief—and a common disinformation trope— that Moscow had to annex Crimea to protect the people there.
"We were simply forced to make a decision in 2014 to support the people of Crimea and Sevastopol," he said. "Because any other course of action would have meant handing them over to be torn to pieces."
"I assumed that it would certainly be associated with certain serious difficulties," he continued, "And that is what happened: sanctions were imposed immediately in 2014. And I think we did the right thing by doing what we did then."
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Nuclear Weapons
Putin said it had not been necessary for Moscow to use nuclear weapons yet, despite the West trying to "provoke" him by allowing Ukraine to fire its missiles at Russian territory.
"They wanted to provoke us, they wanted to make us make mistakes," he said, "Well, there was no need to use the weapons you just mentioned, and I hope there will be no need."
"We have enough forces and resources to bring what was started in 2022 to its logical conclusion with the result that Russia needs," Putin said.
What People Are Saying
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said about pulling out of peace talks: "We will continue to help, but we will no longer fly around the world as mediators in meetings. Now it is up to the two sides, the time has come when they must present and develop concrete ideas on how to end this conflict. It will be up to them."
US President Donald Trump: "I do believe we're closer [to an agreement] with one party, and maybe not as close with the other. I'd like to not say which one we're closer to. There will be a time when I'll say, 'Okay, keep going, keep being stupid.'"
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky: "Our position is very simple for all countries traveling to Russia on May 9 [Victory Day Parade]: We cannot be held responsible for what happens on the territory of the Russian Federation. They are responsible for your safety. We will not provide any guarantees, because we do not know what Russia might do on those dates."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Fox News show Hannity: "Look, we have gotten closer ... we kind of can see what it would take for Ukraine to stop. We can see what it would take for the Russians to stop. The problem is, those two positions are still a little far apart."
What Happens Next
Rubio has stressed that the U.S. will still help with negotiations where it can. "But there does come a point where the president has to decide how much more time at the highest levels of our government do you dedicate it, when maybe one of the two sides or both aren't really close enough," he said.
Officials at the US National Security Council are said to be preparing "more punitive actions against Russia" on top of the existing economic sanctions that have been in place since Moscow's invasion in 2022, an official told Reuters.
The upcoming Victory Day parade in Moscow is widely seen as a major stress-test for the ailing Russian air defenses tasked with protecting Putin and other leaders in attendance.
Update 5/5/25 10:16 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with the correct name for Fox News' Hannity show.
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