Ukraine’s top general warns of Russian nuclear strike risk

In rare public comments Ukraine’s military chief warned on Wednesday of the threat of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, which would create the risk of a “limited” nuclear conflict with other powers, Reuters reported.

The war in Ukraine that began with Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24 was likely to rage on into next year, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said in an article co-authored by lawmaker Mykhailo Zabrodskyi and published by state news agency Ukrinform.

According to Reuters the article contained by far the Ukrainian commander-in-chief’s most detailed assessment of the war to date, and gave starkly contrasting messages to those given by top Ukrainian officials.

“There is a direct threat of the use, under certain circumstances, of tactical nuclear weapons by the Russian Armed forces,” Zaluzhnyi said.

“It is also impossible to completely rule out the possibility of the direct involvement of the world’s leading countries in a ‘limited’ nuclear conflict, in which the prospect of World War Three is already directly visible,” the article said.

Moscow has in the past denied speculation of potential nuclear or chemical weapons use, read the report.