But even a small nuclear explosion could cause thousands of deaths and render a base or a downtown area uninhabitable for years. How much destruction - and lingering radiation - would result depends on factors including the size of the weapon and the winds. The targets could be a Ukrainian military base or a small city. They could fire a shell six inches wide from an artillery gun on Ukrainian soil, or a half-ton warhead from a missile located over the border in Russia. The scenarios of how the Russians might do it vary widely. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe some of the most sensitive discussions inside the administration. Putin to halt the Ukrainian counteroffensive, by threatening to make parts of Ukraine uninhabitable. officials say, would be as part of a last-ditch effort by Mr.
Putin’s threats have come to doubt how useful such arms - delivered in an artillery shell or thrown in the back of a truck - would be in advancing his objectives. Putin of Russia is now discovering what the United States itself concluded years ago, American officials suspect: Small nuclear weapons are hard to use, harder to control and a far better weapon of terror and intimidation than a weapon of war.Īnalysts inside and outside the government who have tried to game out Mr. WASHINGTON - For all his threats to fire tactical nuclear arms at Ukrainian targets, President Vladimir V.
0 kommentar(er)
