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The war in Ukraine has expanded to attacks on civilian targets in both countries.
This has culminated in Russia striking cities and Ukraine hitting Moscow’s energy infrastructure, including e-commerce warehouses that have dual-use civilian and military products.
Now, there are hardline voices in Russia who are calling for Vladimir Putin to do the unthinkable - use tactical nuclear weapons to win the war against Ukraine once and for all.
At one point, before Ukraine’s incessant drone and missile strikes on civilian targets, the Kremlin may have pursued a path to peace.
Ordinary Russians are currently feeling the pain, and Putin is not likely to rely on diplomacy to end the fighting.
Hardliners: It’s Time to Take Extreme Actions
Hardline voices are rising up and demanding that Russia execute enhanced tactics. They believe that Volodymyr Zelensky should be assassinated somehow.
The nationalists are calling for strikes against European drone makers, according to Reuters. There needs to be total warfare with a new draft for more fighters at the front, these dead-enders think.
The Nuclear Option Is the Big Worry
But it is the call for nuclear weapons that is sending shivers up the spine of the United States and its NATO allies. Putin may also “escalate to de-escalate.”
This means he could create a nuclear fail-safe scenario that may include a tactical nuclear test.
This crisis would freeze all activities in Ukraine and would shock the world, giving Russia a renewed sense of confidence and momentum while Zelensky and the Western world quake in fright.
“What else needs to happen before we start fighting for real? War means victory at any cost.
The Ukrainians are at war, so they’re fighting with everything they’ve got,” said Konstantin Malofeyev, a Russian hardliner, according to Reuters.
This fire-breather wants Putin to take an alarming step - create a nuclear holocaust to win the war outright.
“Why are we not using nuclear weapons, which our forebears developed and stockpiled with the full might of the nation precisely for this purpose?” he asked.
Broaden the War Effort to Win Once and For All
Total war, according to the desperate Russian hardliners, is necessary.
That means pursuing a huge bombardment of Ukrainian cities that would eliminate many more civilians. This belief goes beyond the use of ballistic missiles and drones.
Heavy bombers would unleash nuclear-tipped cruise missiles in a shocking display that would end the Ukrainians’ will to fight.
The Click Bait Is Worrisome
Putin knows these voices are extreme, and while a nuclear attack is plausible, it is not likely.
Still, it is frightening to know that some Russians are this violent as they play nuclear provocateurs on blogs and social media.
The hardliners have tens of thousands of followers and readers. They are certainly stirring the pot for more clicks and quotes.
The Kremlin has not told the nationalists to quell their rhetoric.
Putin has all options on the table, including a nuclear test of a low-yield battlefield weapon. This would show that Russia is capable of the extreme scenario.
So far, Putin has resisted such an extreme action, and there have been calls for a nuclear strike by hardliners before.
But as Ukraine continues to attack civilian targets, Putin could get desperate to reclaim the initiative and scare the West and Ukraine into submission.
Quick History of Nuclear Rhetoric
At the beginning of the war in 2022, Putin warned that if NATO intervened in the special military operation, he would take extreme measures.
“Russia will respond immediately,” he said, “and the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history.”
This was believed to be a real threat at the time, and Putin did not further dispel the nuclear option as the war ground into a stalemate.
He even claimed that Russia would shift its nuclear arsenal to a “special mode of combat duty,” which is an anodyne description of readying the stockpile and its launchers for attack.
As Chatham House wrote, “In September 2024, Putin announced an update of the 2020 Russian nuclear doctrine. The update was published on 19 November 2024 and formally reduced the threshold for nuclear weapons use.”
This was seen as another Russian warning that it could take a drastic step in its nuclear warfare doctrine.
Putin began to cool his rhetoric during territorial gains in the Donbas as his military was able to forge a strong defense against Ukrainian advances along the frontlines.
Russia Is Getting Frustrated
Now, Ukraine has shifted to nightly drone and missile attacks against civilian targets such as oil refineries, which has caused fuel shortages and gas lines.
This has the hardliners chirping about escalating the war in a way that could create final victory for Russia with tactics that have not been pursued before.
Don’t look for Putin to heed the calls for a nuclear strike, but a test could happen.
The Russian dictator is looking for any way to regain the initiative, and this could shock the world into believing that the Kremlin is playing for keeps.
The nationalists may not even be satisfied with this step. With the way the war is going for Putin, he may seek a state of total war not seen since the end of World War Two.
The Kremlin is certainly desperate to gain some form of momentum, and rhetoric about the nuclear option from dead-enders will not end soon.
About the Author: Brent M. Eastwood, PhD
Author of now over 3,500 articles on defense issues, Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don't Turn Your Back On the World: A Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for US Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former US Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
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