Senior members of Russia’s Armed Forces discussed the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons in the context of the war in Ukraine, according to U.S. Intelligence, which places Russian President Vladimir Putin outside these alleged talks.
The sources consulted by the newspaper ‘The New York Times’ acknowledge that the mere existence of this conversation generated alert in Washington, which attributed it to the growing frustration of the Russian military leadership after the loss of territories in the south and east of Ukraine.
However, the US authorities are not aware that the Russians have made any moves to anticipate the possible use of atomic weapons. The US Department of Defense estimates that Moscow has up to 2,000 tactical weapons that could be used on the battlefield.
Both the U.S. government and other Western allies have warned that the use of atomic weapons would be an unacceptable escalation of the conflict that erupted in February. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ruled out any plans to resort to such equipment, although he has agitated the threat on several occasions.
Indeed, Putin oversaw maneuvers by Russian nuclear forces in October in which a «massive» attack was rehearsed, as Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu described it at the time. He has also denounced alleged Ukrainian plans to use a dirty bomb, including radioactive material.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied the information published by ‘The New York Times’, accusing the United States of «inflating» the debate on nuclear armament, according to Bloomberg news agency.
