Threat of Nuclear Strike From Russia 'High as it Has Ever Been'—Ukraine MP

Reported discussions among Russia's military leaders about using nuclear weapons in Ukraine shows how the West must be proactive and not reactive in tackling Vladimir Putin's aggression, a Ukrainian lawmaker has told Newsweek.

Following months of innuendo about his country's atomic capabilities, and international concern about what steps he might take to aid his faltering campaign, Putin last Wednesday denied he was considering using a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.

However, the Russian president was not present when his military chiefs discussed when and how a tactical nuclear weapon might be used, in a conversation that alarmed the Biden administration, according to The New York Times.

"We think that the threat of nuclear strike currently by Russia is as high as it has ever been before," Halyna Yanchenko told Newsweek when asked about The New York Times article. She is a Ukrainian MP and deputy head of the parliamentary majority.

"One of the reasons why we think so is because Putin has committed a number of absolutely illogical, senseless bloody acts toward Ukraine already for the past eight months of unprovoked, full-scale aggression," she added.

"We do think that the nuclear-strike threat is possible, but the question that I want to raise is, 'What is the democratic world doing about that?'"

Yanchenko said that interceptions of communications over the last few months have revealed how Russian military officials have been angered that their forces had not been making strikes on downtown Kyiv.

"In our opinion, it's very important for the free world to change its tactics and strategy toward Ukraine, because we've seen a lot of assistance to Ukraine, which was great. But the thing is that a lot of this assistance was reactive."

Yanchenko said that Ukraine received a large amount of air-defense equipment only after Russian attacks on electricity and heating infrastructure of Ukraine in October. She is concerned that the West will react only when Putin commits "yet another senseless and unprovoked and bloody act.

"We hope that this nuclear-strike threat will be a totally different thing, and that actually the West will come up with proactive decisions and actions," Yanchenko said, referring to the need for jets and a strong signal from Kyiv's allies that Putin cannot get away with such threats.

National Security Council official John Kirby did not comment on the Times article but said that his administration took Russia's nuclear threats "seriously."

Meanwhile, U.S. officials had not seen evidence that Russia was moving nuclear weapons into place or preparing for an unconventional strike. Newsweek has contacted the Pentagon for comment.

Experts have cast doubt on whether Putin would resort to nuclear weapons, because they would not deliver an immediate strategic advantage and his forces suffer from command and control problems that would make their use difficult.

Tactical nuclear weapons have lower yields and are used at shorter ranges than the warheads carried on intercontinental ballistic missiles. No such munition has ever been used in combat, but it could be deployed by missile or artillery shell, which, experts say, would change the shape of the war.