Trump and Kremlin Aides Sound Alarm Over Nuclear Tensions Following Ukraine Drone Attack
Russia will retaliate against Kyiv for attacking nuclear-capable aircraft at airfields, Vladimir Putin has warned.
In an effort to put pressure on Donald Trump to further curtail US support for Ukraine, Kremlin advisers and individuals close to the president have warned that the likelihood of a nuclear conflict is increasing, even as Vladimir Putin vows to strike back against Ukraine for last weekend’s historic drone attack.
Chief of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and a key go-between for the Kremlin and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, Kirill Dmitriev, described the Ukrainian drone strike as an attack on “Russian nuclear assets” and echoed statements made by Maga-friendly individuals warning of the possibility of a third world war.
With a dove emoji, Dmitriev said, “Clear communication is urgent – to grasp reality and the rising risks before it’s too late.”
According to Ukraine, the attack damaged over 40 Russian aircraft, including heavy bombers Tu-95 and Tu-22M, which have been used to fire cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities during the conflict, killing thousands of people and destroying vital infrastructure that provides millions more with electricity and heat.
Along with submarines and silo-based missiles, such aircraft may also carry weapons with nuclear warheads and are a member of the nuclear triad, which serves as the foundation for a deterrent system between the US and Russia.
“President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields,” Trump stated following a phone conversation between the two leaders on Wednesday.
In 1994, Ukraine willingly gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange for guarantees of security from Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Those who are opposed to US assistance for Ukraine are using the threat of a nuclear exchange to make the case that the conflict might escalate.
The drone attack has been publicly denounced by Maga (Make America great again) influencers Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk. Bannon compared the strike to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour, while Kirk wrote: “Most people aren’t paying attention, but we’re closer to nuclear war than we’ve been since this began in 2022.”
However, in an effort to preserve Trump’s interest in negotiating a settlement, more centrist advisers within the Trump administration, some of whom have deeper ties to Ukraine, are also cautioning that the likelihood of a nuclear exchange is increasing.
Trump’s envoy to Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, told Fox News that “the risk levels are going way up.” “Your risk level increases when you hit a portion of an adversary’s [nuclear] triad because you never know what the other side will do. And they did just that.
Although claims of an explosion at Severomorsk have not been verified, Kellogg also reiterated rumours that Ukraine had attacked the Russian nuclear fleet there. The US was “trying to avoid” an escalation, he said.
The drone operations have also drawn strong opposition from some administration officials, both past and present, who are dubious about US assistance for Ukraine.
Dan Caldwell, a prominent foreign policy adviser who served as Pete Hegseth’s top aide at the Pentagon until he was fired last month due to a leaking scandal, stated that Ukraine attacking Russia’s strategic nuclear forces the day before another round of peace negotiations is not in America’s best interests.
“This increases the risk of direct conflict between Russia and NATO and has the potential to be extremely escalating,” he stated. “The United States should stop any assistance that could directly or indirectly facilitate attacks against Russian strategic nuclear forces in addition to distancing itself from this attack.”
This is not the first time that US support for Ukraine has been tempered by worries about Russia’s nuclear weapons.
According to senior Biden officials, Russian authorities provided warnings that the Kremlin was thinking about using a battlefield nuclear weapon in September 2022 when Moscow’s forces were routed in the south at Kherson and close to Kharkiv.
However, national security authorities indicated they thought there was a 50% probability that Russia would use a nuclear weapon if the Russian lines fell and allowed a Ukrainian attack on Crimea.
In response, Ukrainian officials claim that Russia has exaggerated its nuclear attack threats to extort more assistance from the United States.
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