Russia has issued chilling warnings about potential nuclear weapon deployment as the United States cautions President Vladimir Putin that he faces a "strategic disaster" in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The menacing statements from Moscow come as NATO launches the major Ramstein Flag 2026 military exercises in a significant display of force.
US Warns of Russian Defeat
Dan Negrea, the US representative at the United Nations Security Council, cautioned that the Kremlin was confronting defeat on the battlefield. "Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been a strategic disaster. Its oil refineries are ablaze and Russia is losing 5,000 people per month. Moscow cannot achieve its goals on the battlefield. Escalation will not change that and only risks making the disaster worse. This war must end now. Enough is enough," he stated.
Russia's Nuclear Threats
However, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin declared that Putin was prepared to deploy nuclear weapons should Russia or Belarus—bound together in an authoritarian "Union State"—encounter security threats. Such a deployment could potentially spark World War Three.
"We are constantly ready to use all means, including nuclear ones, to ensure the security of the Union State," Galuzin declared. He pointed to an alleged accumulation of NATO military forces along the Russian and Belarusian frontier as justification for the heightened alert.
Calls for Nuclear Action
These threats were accompanied by demands in the Russian government's official publication, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, for Putin to deploy nuclear weapons and attempt to eliminate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The appeal originated from military analyst Colonel Yuri Knutov, as Moscow reels from Ukraine gaining the advantage in the war through its development and deployment of devastating drones and missiles. Putin's troops are being pushed back along the front line and enduring catastrophic casualties.
Knutov argued that Moscow should brand Zelensky "an international terrorist, which essentially would unleash our special services for his liquidation." He added: "To these measures for neutralising aerial threats one can also add a change in the tactics of ground warfare. The mass use of drones is slowing the pace of our offensive. It forces us to disperse and conduct combat operations in small groups. My view is that we are approaching the moment when the question of using tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield will arise."
Tactical Nuclear Weapons Considered
The military analyst championed deploying tactical nuclear weapons, stating: "These do not necessarily have to be missiles with a warhead of ten kilotons. For example, we have 152mm shells with special [nuclear] warheads in service. That is, with low-yield charges. They should ensure our breakthrough in key directions. In other words, if we use them in three or four places in the Ukrainian Armed Forces' defences, then we are guaranteed to move forward because of the absence of fortifications and enemy manpower."
He added: "At the same time, the level of use of tactical weapons would be minimal. Then we encircle and destroy what remains in the rear." He cautioned: "Such actions are part of combat tactics and are known to our General Staff. It is also necessary to make more extensive use of our most powerful aerial bombs, the FAB-3000 and FAB-9000. If actively used on a particular sector, such munitions are also capable of grinding down the enemy's defences, including its buried positions."
