Dmitry Suslov, a top figure at the Moscow-based Council for Foreign and Defence Policy, has put forward the idea of Russia carrying out a “demonstrative” nuclear detonation, a move that could prompt the start of World War 3. This alarming suggestion arises as tensions with the West intensify due to Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weaponry against Russian forces.
Suslov’s think tank, known to occasionally sway government policy, made this proposal public shortly after President Vladimir Putin delivered a grave warning to NATO countries. Putin warned that if Ukraine were to employ Western arms for attacks on Russian soil, it could spark a worldwide crisis, reinforcing his point with threats of severe repercussions.
Ukraine’s officials maintain that hitting Russian military sites within Russia using long-range Western missiles is essential for their defence and to thwart air, missile, and drone assaults. Some Western nations have shown sympathy for this view, though the US has not given its backing.
With the world’s largest nuclear stockpile, Russia has repeatedly cautioned that such moves would represent a major escalation, potentially drawing NATO and participating states into an outright conflict and raising the spectre of a nuclear confrontation.
Suslov highlighted the urgency for Russia to take bold steps to deter Western nations from overstepping a crucial boundary. He suggested a non-combat nuclear detonation as a severe caution.
“To confirm the seriousness of Russia’s intentions and to convince our opponents of Moscow’s readiness to escalate, it is worth considering a demonstrative (i.e. non-combat) nuclear explosion,” Suslov penned in the business publication Profil.
He went on to describe the potential repercussions of such a move: “The political and psychological effect of a nuclear mushroom cloud, which will be shown live on all TV channels around the world, will hopefully remind Western politicians of the one thing that has prevented wars between the great powers since 1945 and that they have now largely lost – fear of nuclear war.”
This proposal is among the latest from Russian security analysts and legislators who are pushing for a nuclear demonstration to cow the West amidst the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Such talk has set off alarm bells among Western security circles, with worries that Russia may be edging towards carrying out such a test.
The Kremlin has not yet issued a statement regarding Suslov’s recommendation. Officially, Russia maintains its nuclear stance as before. Nonetheless, earlier this month, the Kremlin expressed its displeasure with what it views as increasingly hostile Western discourse by initiating tactical nuclear weapons exercises.
In addition to the nuclear test proposal, Suslov recommended that Russia initiate strategic nuclear exercises and issue stern warnings. He suggested that Moscow should notify any country whose weapons are used by Kyiv to attack Russia that it reserves the right to strike targets in that country globally.
