Russia conducted nuclear military training in Belarus in May, though President Vladimir Putin has so far refrained from issuing direct nuclear threats to Kyiv. Despite pressure from Russian politicians, Putin said Ukraine’s strikes do not cause enough damage to require a nuclear reaction from his government.
Last month, Saint Petersburg MP Viktor Perov urged his colleagues in the assembly to ask Putin to strike Ukraine with nuclear weapons.
“Our president was forced to start the special military operation, but, unfortunately, everything did not go as planned. Therefore, I believe that you, the deputies, should turn to the president with a request to start using nuclear weapons … which will lead the leadership of Ukraine to sign a peace agreement,” Perov said.