2022-04-15T11:08:00+03:00 Politics 2024-09-15T07:32:04+03:00

Ukrainian news

Putin May Use Tactical Nuclear Weapons Because Of Failures And Despair – CIA

Putin May Use Tactical Nuclear Weapons Because Of Failures And Despair – CIA

"Potential desperation" to create the appearance of victory in Ukraine may prompt Russian President Vladimir Putin to order the use of tactical or low-power nuclear weapons, according to CIA Director William J. Burns.

This was reported by The New York Times, says Yevropeiska Pravda online media.

Burns, who served as the US ambassador to Russia and a member of the administration who has dealt with Putin most often, said the potential detonation of such weapons - even as a warning shot - is a possibility the United States remains "very concerned about."

But he immediately warned that so far, despite Putin's frequent references to nuclear threats, he had seen no "practical evidence" of troop deployments or weapons transfers that would indicate the inevitability of such a move.

Tactical weapons are sometimes referred to as "battlefield nuclear weapons," smaller weapons that can be fired from a mortar or even detonated like a mine, as opposed to "strategic" weapons mounted on intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Russia has a large arsenal of tactical weapons. Low-power nuclear weapons have been designed to produce a fairly weak explosion, which sometimes blurs the distinction between conventional and nuclear weapons.