Putin's Cheerleaders Argue Over Nuclear Strikes on Ukraine

In a heated argument on state TV, Kremlin propagandists clashed over the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons in President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.

During a broadcast on TV channel Russia-1, Vladimir Solovyov, one of the best-known figures in Kremlin-backed media, suggested Moscow use nuclear weapons, prompting Andrey Sidorov, a professor at Moscow State University to question the capability of the Russian army.

An excerpt of the discussion was posted on Monday by the Daily Beast's Julia Davis, who wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Meanwhile in Russia: propagandist Vladimir Solovyov erupted in his typical nuclear tirade, but was stunned and mentally glitched when his guest asked an unexpectedly honest question: 'Is our Army unable to win with conventional weapons?'"

The use of nuclear weapons has been discussed frequently throughout the war in Ukraine. The Russian president himself said in a televised address to the nation in September 2022 that he would be prepared to use such weapons to defend Russian territory.

"Why are we still dancing around? I think we should strike. As soon as they officially deliver [F-16s], we conduct a strike with tactical nuclear weapons," suggested Solovyov. "They're convinced we won't do it. This is why it should be done."

Sidorov, deputy dean of world politics at Moscow State University, quickly disagreed, saying that he views nuclear weapons positively "as long as they aren't used."

"Then what are they for? Keep them at home? Use them to make sauerkraut?" Solovyov hit back, to which Sidorov said "yes."

The professor questioned Solovyov's logic, pushing the Kremlin line that parts of Ukraine belong to Russia. In 2014, Russia illegally annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea. Putin also claimed to have annexed four Ukrainian regions in the fall of 2022—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russia is not fully in control of any of them and foreign governments, including the United States, said the move was illegitimate.

"The first question is, where to use [a nuclear weapon]—in Ukraine? If these are Western Russian lands, would we be striking our own? Ruining our own territories?" said Sidorov.

Solovyov responded by calling the professor "a pacifist in disguise."

"We're always acting holier than the Pope," the propagandist said, adding that as Ukraine is not viewed officially as an ally of the U.S., nuclear weapons would work "wonderfully in Ukraine."

"For God's sake, this is our territory!" Sidorov said, and asked whether Russia is capable of victory on the battlefield using normal weapons.

"When we discuss using nuclear weapons, I start to question: is our army unable to win using conventional weapons? It can only do it with nuclear weapons?" the professor said.

Solovyov appeared stunned at Sidorov's remarks.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on a minute!" he said, clutching his head and closing his eyes.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry via email for comment.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a self-exiled Russian former business executive, who is now a leading critic of the Kremlin regime, told Newsweek last month that Putin has only one "real red line" that can't be crossed.

"There is only one real red line for Putin—a direct physical threat to himself," said Khodorkovsky, who headed the energy company Yukos before he spent a decade in prison in Russia on what critics called politically motivated charges. "So any other situation which allows some room for maneuver for Putin himself is not really a red line, as far as he's concerned."

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