Russia sends horror WW3 threat – 'We must use nuclear weapons'

A Russian state TV commentator has called for the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine in a chilling exchange that comes amid a surge in Kremlin war rhetoric. The comments follow a major Ukrainian drone assault on Moscow, Russia’s vow to continue launching “massive group strikes” on Kyiv, and fresh fears over nuclear escalation after Vladimir Putin staged strategic bomber drills near British waters.

The remarks were made during an episode of the political talk show One’s Own Truth, hosted by pro-Kremlin presenter Roman Babayan, as panellists discussed Ukraine’s recent drone strikes on Russian territory. Military analyst Yury Knutov argued that Moscow should dramatically escalate its response, claiming that Ukraine had effectively “declared war” on ordinary Russians. Referring to a statement attributed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Knutov said: “They’ve declared a war against Russia’s population, which is cruel, merciless and cynical.” He then appeared to advocate the use of nuclear weapons, telling viewers: “The way I’m seeing it, it’s now time to move on to using nuclear weapons during the first phase.

“These could be nuclear munitions. We could use them to break their defences in a number of places.”

Knutov also claimed Russia possessed 152mm nuclear munitions and warned that Moscow could not wait until “French, British and American nuclear warheads fly our way”.

As military analyst Yury Knutov called for the use of nuclear weapons, Gevorg Mirzayan appeared to shake his head, arguing instead that Russia should demonstrate to Europe that its threats carry weight through tougher conventional measures rather than immediate nuclear strikes.

The remarks came during a heated discussion on how Russia should respond to what Babayan described as the “most massive” drone attack on Moscow and the surrounding region in the past two years.

Opening the debate, host Babayan asked: “How should we respond? What can we do? Where can we strike so they no longer even think of doing anything like this?”

Elsewhere in the programme, nationalist writer Nikolai Starikov accused Kyiv of waging an “information war” against Russia.

“They want to win an information war against Russia,” he said. “They’re waging war against the psychological and emotional state of every Russian citizen.”

State Duma deputy Boris Chernyshov insisted Ukraine would not stop its attacks until Moscow made “certain decisions” of its own, while former politician Sergey Stankevich called for the urgent creation of a new nationwide air defence system to protect Russia’s European territories.

Research fellow Gevorg Mirzayan also called for a harsher response, arguing that Russia should demonstrate that its “threats have meaning”. He suggested striking symbolic targets in Ukraine and claimed such actions would show Europe that Moscow was serious.

Mirzayan warned that if the conflict continued to escalate, the West would ultimately face a stark choice.

“You will have a nuclear war,” he said.

The comments were made on Russian television and do not represent an official statement from the Kremlin.

However, such rhetoric has become increasingly common on state media since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.