Russian military leaders discussed use of tactical nukes against Ukraine, says NYT
Shoigu at a meeting in Moscow (Photo:Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS)
High-ranking officials of the Russian Armed Forces recently discussed when and how Moscow might use tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine, U.S. newspaper the New York Times said on Nov. 2, citing its own sources.
According to many high-ranking U.S. officials, this caused “heightened concern” in the United States and allied states.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin did not take part in the discussions about when and how Moscow might use a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine, which took place against the backdrop of Russia’s intensifying nuclear rhetoric and battlefield setbacks, the NYT said.
But even the fact itself that such discussions took place alarmed the Biden administration, as it showed how frustrated the Russian military is becoming about its failures on the battlefield, suggesting that Putin’s veiled threats to use nuclear weapons might be more than just words, NYT said.
Commenting on the information presented by the NYT, the press secretary of the Russian dictator Dmitry Peskov accused the West of “inflating” the topic of nuclear weapons.
“We have absolutely no intention of participating in this ‘inflating’ (of the topic), and consider it very, very irresponsible,” Peskov said at a press conference.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has several times issued thinly veiled threats to Western countries that Russia might resort to the use of nuclear weapons. The last time was in a speech on Sept. 21, when Putin added that his threat was “not a bluff.”
According to media reports, amid Putin's threats, the US has accelerated the deployment of a more precise version of its main nuclear bomb at NATO bases in Europe.
Ukrainian intelligence has stated that they consider the threat of Russia’s use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine to be very high.
Meanwhile, according to Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Ukrainian military’s GUR (Main Intelligence Directorate), Russia will not launch a nuclear strike in the near future.
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