A senior pro-Kremlin Russian lawmaker has called for Moscow to consider using tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine, arguing that Russia must intensify its attacks until Kyiv is forced to capitulate.
Aleksey Zhuravlev, first deputy chairman of Russia’s parliament defence committee and leader of the nationalist Rodina, or Motherland, party, said Russia’s military advances and attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure were encouraging but insufficient, the Express reports.
“Today, our army is moving forward. This is encouraging,” he said.
“We are inflicting crushing blows on the enemy’s infrastructure. That’s also good.
“But, in my opinion, we need to hit harder. And it’s not just my opinion.”
He demanded: “We need to hit so hard that the enemy understands that they must capitulate.”
The remarks come as discussion of Russia’s potential use of nuclear weapons has increasingly featured in public debate among senior Russian officials and commentators, although there is no indication that Moscow is preparing to use such weapons.
Zhuravlev said the question of tactical nuclear weapons should no longer be treated as hypothetical.
“There are discussions going on: can we use tactical nuclear weapons or can’t we?
“Listen, that discussion should not even exist.
“If necessary, we are obliged to use them. That’s what we’re talking about.”
Russia maintains a substantial nuclear arsenal, including short-range systems such as the Iskander-M, which can be configured to carry nuclear warheads.
Zhuravlev also accused Ukraine and other former Soviet republics of failing to show Russia sufficient respect, arguing that the country’s historical power should command greater deference.
“All of our Soviet republics always lived much better than…today’s Russia.
“And how do they treat us now? I don’t need to tell you.”
The 64-year-old lawmaker invoked the US use of atomic bombs against Japan during the second world war as an argument for the coercive power of nuclear weapons.
“Stop making the same mistake again….
“The Americans dropped a couple of nuclear bombs on Japan, and what do we see?
“They [the Japanese] practically started kissing American *****….
“If we have to strike [with nukes], we’ll strike. And that’s not up for discussion.”
Zhuravlev is a prominent figure in Russia’s nationalist political establishment. His Rodina party is among 10 parties contesting September’s elections for the Russian parliament, or Duma.
He has also been involved in legal action that resulted in the Supreme Court disqualifying the only party opposed to the war from contesting the election, a decision viewed by critics as consistent with the Kremlin’s efforts to constrain anti-war political opposition.
The latest comments underline the increasingly hardline rhetoric surrounding Russia’s war in Ukraine, particularly among nationalist politicians who argue that Moscow should use greater force to secure its military objectives.
At the same time, calls for nuclear escalation should not be taken as evidence that a decision to use nuclear weapons has been made. Russia’s leadership has repeatedly used nuclear signalling as part of its broader strategy of deterrence and pressure against Ukraine and its Western supporters.
Zhuravlev’s intervention nevertheless illustrates how nuclear escalation has become an increasingly prominent element of Russia’s political discourse as the war continues and Moscow seeks to maintain pressure on Kyiv.
The central question for Moscow remains whether conventional military pressure can achieve its objectives without crossing the nuclear threshold — a threshold Zhuravlev argued should be considered a legitimate option if required.
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