RUSSIA has “no option” but to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, the man who oversaw the development of the Satan-2 missile has said.
Dmitry Rogozin, who was in charge of the Russian Space Agency, urged Vladimir Putin to unleash nuclear weapons after Moscow claimed Ukraine tried to assassinate the tyrant.
Footage showed a flying object exploding in flames overnight above the fortress in central Moscow - where the president has his office and an apartment - on Wednesday.
Until last year, Rogozin was in charge of testing Putin’s giant Satan-2 hypersonic nuclear-cable missile, known in Russia as Sarmat, and Moscow’s array of space satellites.
But now he admitted Russian forces are facing deep trouble ahead of Ukraine’s imminent counteroffensive unless Putin goes nuclear.
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“It must be said that under our doctrine we have every right to use tactical nuclear weapons,” said Rogozin, dressed in military fatigues with a customised AK-47 machine gun slung over his shoulder.
“That is precisely what they are there for - this great equaliser.
“For now, there is a clear disparity in the forces and conventional weapons in favour of the enemy.”
Rogozin insisted Russia’s disastrous performance in the Ukraine war. was due to the West’s arms supplies to Kyiv.
“Therefore the best method to destroy the counter-offensive is to use tactical nuclear weapons, with understandable consequences, of course,” he said.
“I think there is no other option at the moment. I want to say we are waiting for the offensive, we are ready for it.”
A former Russian ambassador to NATO, Rogozin earlier in the war sought to scare the West with threats of using Russian nuclear weapons.
He was wounded in December when Ukraine attacked at his 59th birthday party in a Donetsk hotel.
Throughout the war in Ukraine, Putin has engaged in nuclear sabre rattling in a bid to warn the West off increasing military aid to Kyiv.
In the most direct threat, he said Russia “will use all the means at our disposal” to defend itself adding “this is not a bluff” as he announced a mass mobilisation.
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Putin’s latest move has seen him order Iskander nuclear capable missiles to be deployed to Belarus, bringing them within reach of Kyiv as well as the NATO capital cities of Warsaw and Vilnius.
A leading expert has warned the tyrant could still use nuclear weapons.
In a report for a report for the Chatham House foreign policy think tank, Keir Giles says Russia’s constant nuclear intimidation has so far delivered success.
But he says that while the chances of Putin actually using weapons remains slim - or “non-zero” as he puts it - they cannot be completely excluded.
Giles says Russia could use nuclear weapons “as the only means of avoiding admission of a clear defeat”.
“One or more nuclear strikes could form part of a scorched earth response intended simply to cause misery and destruction in Ukraine in recognition of Russian failure to conquer it,” she said.
Russian nuclear strikes have to be officially signed off by Putin, who uses a small briefcase known as "The Cheget" - his equivalent of the US President's so-called "nuclear football".
In his report, Giles points out that to actually use nuclear weapons, Putin will have to overcome possible resistance by more sober-minded officers.
But he argues that unless a clear message is sent to Putin that any nuclear threats will face consequences, then rogue states across the globe will feel emboldened.
