Quote:Russian physicist has urged President Vladimir Putin in a letter to strike Ukraine with nuclear weapons to speed up the outcome of the war and cut off supply routes that facilitate the transport of aid from Western nations.

A copy of the letter sent by Anatoly Volyntsev, physicist and professor at Perm State University, to the Russian leader was obtained by independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. The publication then conducted a sit-down interview with Volyntsev about the letter's contents.

Putin's war in Ukraine, now in its third year, has intensified in recent days after Kyiv launched a surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region on August 6, seizing nearly as much territory as Moscow has captured in Ukraine since the start of the year. Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky has said Kyiv is now in control of about 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of Kursk.

Newsweek has contacted Ukraine's Foreign Ministry for comment by email.

Ties between Washington and Moscow have become increasingly strained over Putin's decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian officials have routinely accused NATO of being complicit in the war by providing Kyiv with aid and weapons.

Volyntsev told Novaya Gazeta that he told Putin to consider the use of nuclear weapons in the war "to achieve all goals faster," given that the conflict has been raging for two and a half years.

"The situation at the front has become so bogged down and drawn out," he said, adding that Moscow has failed to carry out any "major breakthrough military actions."


While Russia has the advantage, "we are moving quite slowly," the physicist said.

"The [Russian] people have a question: when will we finally finish and achieve what we wanted?" he asked. "Secondly, we have to endure terrorist attacks on Russian soil, and these attacks are organized, in fact, by the West, with the help of Western weapons, with the help of their intelligence resources, in fact with the direct participation of the collective West. And we do not respond. And here the people have a question: why not respond properly, we are a nuclear power?"

Volyntsev proposed using nuclear weapons to strike Ukraine's Beskydy Tunnel, a rail route in the Lviv region that is reportedly used to transport Western weapons used by Ukraine's Armed Forces.


He said it would be "very difficult" to destroy with conventional weapons, given that tunnels are "the most reliable bomb shelters."

The destructive power of nuclear weapons is much greater, the physicist said.

Volyntsev suggested using "small hydrogen bombs" to conduct a "gentle nuclear strike" on the tunnel "in order to block the main supply routes."

"Yes, some radioactivity will be induced. But this is an option that does not leave a large radioactive contamination of the atmosphere and load on the soil," he said. "Yes, there will be casualties…but everything can be done with minimal destruction."


Volyntsev described the conflict as it stands as "a war of attrition."

"Without Western assistance, everything would have ended long ago. How can this Western assistance be cut off?" he asked. "It is necessary to block the flow of weapons, other materials and equipment that allow the Ukrainian regime to exist."

Putin Urged To Deploy Nukes To Cut Off Ukraine's NATO Aid

(08-17-2024, 11:28 PM)EndtheMadnessNow Wrote:

Quote:...

Putin Urged To Deploy Nukes To Cut Off Ukraine's NATO Aid

Quote:I wonder if Russia has the same exotic nuclear weapons technology as the US? That being a Hydrogen bomb which is claimed to be 99.9% Clean. Authorized, developed & tested under JFK in 1962. This gives the frightening connotation that nuclear war could be won. 60 years later and I'm sure they have it down to tactical size.

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Vladimir Putin's UK nuclear missile targets leaked

(08-18-2024, 07:48 AM)" Ninurta Wrote:

(08-17-2024, 11:28 PM)EndtheMadnessNow Wrote:

Quote:...

Putin Urged To Deploy Nukes To Cut Off Ukraine's NATO Aid

Whoa! The headline said "deploy", but the body of the article said "strike" - big difference between those two! Nations "deploy" nukes to create fear and uncertainty in order to scare an opponent into submission. They STRIKE to kill folks and blow shit up. A deployment just makes folks jittery, a strike invites retaliation.

If Putin is going to just deploy nukes, he'll wait until after the US election so he knows if he's going to have to deal with a weak, meaningless response from the third Obama term, or if he's going to have to sleep with one eye open with a second Trump term.

If, on the other hand, he's going to strike with nukes, he'll do that BEFORE the US elections, to be assured of a weak, ineffective US response.

A "deployment" is long term, crosses regime changes, and invites the deployer to take a risk of having to eat shit if a regime comes to power that might stand up to him. A strike, though, is lighting-fast, and once done is done. No one can make the striker un-do it regardless of their stance on the matter after the fact. It's fast, winner takes all, and cannot be undone after a regime change.

Quote:I wonder if Russia has the same exotic nuclear weapons technology as the US? That being a Hydrogen bomb which is claimed to be 99.9% Clean. Authorized, developed & tested under JFK in 1962. This gives the frightening connotation that nuclear war could be won. 60 years later and I'm sure they have it down to tactical size.

No such critter as a "clean" nuke. Instead, radioactive spread is determined by "burst height" - how high above the ground the bomb is exploded. If the fireball touches the ground, it's going to generate masses of fallout that will spread radioactivity downwind of the strike zone. The radioactivity doesn't come from the bomb per se, it comes from condensate coming out of the fireball condensing on vaporized granules of dirt  and vaporized buildings, people, etc from the ground, which then precipitates as it cools and is blown down wind.

Neutron bombs are the most insidious - they kill everything in sight while leaving buildings, infrastructure, and the Earth intact and unradiated. So they can be used to kill everyone in a city, and then immediately move in and take over said city for one's self with no radioactive danger to the invasion forces.