Russian politician
A former Russian deputy prime minister said in a video posted this week that the use of tactical nuclear weapons is the only way for Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces to defeat expected Ukraine's counteroffensive.
Dmitry Rogozin, who served as the director general of Russia's Roscosmos space program following his stint as deputy prime minister, made the comments in a video that was posted on a pro-Kremlin Telegram account.
Speculation has been building in recent weeks about when Ukraine will launch a much-anticipated counteroffensive against Putin's military. On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed during a press conference in Helsinki that his forces will "soon" conduct a counteroffensive.
Zelensky's remarks followed a statement posted online earlier in the day by Yevgeny Prigozhin—the leader of the Wagner Group of Russian mercenaries—in which he said he believes the initial stages of Ukraine's counteroffensive had already begun. Prigozhin added that the "active phase" of Ukraine's military campaign would start in the coming days.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks with the then-head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, during a flight to the Amur region of Russia on September 4, 2021. Rogozin said in a recent video that the only way for Russia to defeat Ukraine's counteroffensive is to use tactical nuclear weapons. ALEXEY DRUZHININ/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images
BBC journalist Francis Scarr posted a translated video of Rogozin's comments on Twitter Thursday.
In the clip, Rogozin said Putin's best chance of thwarting the counteroffensive is by using nuclear weapons. The former Kremlin official also admitted that Ukraine has an advantage over Russia in terms of its military and weapons.
Former deputy prime minister and Roscosmos state space agency director Dmitry Rogozin says Russia should use tactical nukes to "destroy" Ukraine's counter-offensive because "at the present moment there is no other option" pic.twitter.com/Jbj1fRbhwU — Francis Scarr (@francis_scarr) May 4, 2023
Scarr's video begins with Rogozin saying that "in accordance with our doctrine, we are fully entitled to use tactical nuclear weapons because that's exactly why they exist."
The former space chief continued, "They're a great leveler for the moment when there is a clear disparity in conventional forces and hardware in the enemy's favor."
Rogozin then said he believes tactical nukes are the only means for Russia to defeat the counteroffensive.
"So the best method for destroying their offensive is to use tactical nuclear weapons...with clear consequences, of course," he said. "But at the present time, I don't think there's any other option."
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email for comment.
During his political career, Rogozin served as Russia's ambassador to NATO from 2008 to 2011 before moving on to become the country's deputy prime minister in charge of the defense industry from 2011 to 2018. Next, he was the director general of Roscosmos from 2018 to July 2022.
Following Rogozin's removal from his Roscosmos position, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media that Rogozin would eventually be given another position in the Kremlin.
In recent months, though, Rogozin has posted images of himself in Ukraine wearing military gear and claiming that he's the head of a group of military advisers called "Tsar's Wolves." This past December, he was also reportedly injured by shrapnel during an explosion in the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk in Ukraine's Donbas region.
Source: Newsweek
