“Putin is planning a nuclear test on the Ukrainian border”

Vladimir Putin – Picture by Ansa Foto

US military support for Ukraine “brings the situation closer to the dangerous point of a direct military confrontation between Russia and NATO”. These are the words of Konstantin Vorontsov, Deputy Director of the Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department of the Moscow Foreign Ministry, during a meeting at the UN.

The Times report

According to the Times, after days of verbal escalation over the Russian atomic threat, Vladimir Putin is ready for a dangerous protest to raise the bar even higher in the confrontation with the West. It is indeed preparing for a nuclear test on the border with Ukraine. The newspaper cited an intelligence report sent by NATO to member states.

Next to the already hypothetical possible test of the Poseidon torpedo, which would be on the launch pad by the intercepted Belgorod submarine in the Arctic Sea, the new launch would be represented by a military train of the nuclear division heading towards the Ukraine. The last known geolocations still saw him in Moscow, hundreds of kilometers from the border.

The risks for Moscow

Also according to the Times, which quotes a senior Western defense source, Putin could initiate this show of force in the Black Sea, but “it is not impossible” that he could use a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine. In this case, however, there would also be risks for Moscow because “they could make a mistake and accidentally hit a Russian town near the Ukrainian border, like Belgorod.”

“We have no indication that the Russian armed forces are mobilizing assets or personnel related to their nuclear arsenal: everything is normal at the moment,” the senior Western defense official told The Times. NATO did not deny the report.

Director of the CIA: “Putin must also be concerned about what is happening at home and abroad”

“Putin feels cornered and can be quite dangerous and reckless,” CIA Director Bill Burns said in an interview with CBS. The head of the Kremlin must “be concerned not only with what is happening on the battlefield in Ukraine but also with what is happening at home and internationally”, he said, adding that China also, despite the promise of “friendship without limits”, he refused to give military support to the offensive in Ukraine.