Published September 1st, 2026 - 11:47 GMT
ALBAWABA - State Duma deputy and leader of the nationalist Rodina party Alexei Zhuravlev has called for Russia to nuke Ukraine — specifically Kyiv — and be done with it.While there has been no evidence that Putin has decided to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine, Bloomberg, citing sources close to the Kremlin, said that Putin was preparing for further escalation in the four-year-old war.It’s unclear what is meant by ‘escalation’, with some on the Russian side hoping that it’s the nuclear kind of escalation; analysts on the other hand believe that Putin views the nuclear option only as a last resort to avoid defeat.Zhuravlev disagrees, however, saying:“Russia must strike in such a way that the enemy understands that it must capitulate,” Zhuravlev said in a video address, posted on Telegram, on Sunday. “There should not even be such a discussion. If necessary, we are obliged to use [tactical nuclear weapons]... If we need to strike, we will strike. And that is not up for discussion.”Others view that the drive inside the Russian State Duma to use nuclear weapons reflects the inability of the Russian military on the ground to achieve combat goals conventionally, thereby showing the cracks and chinks of Russia’s military posture in Ukraine.
