The New York Times reported, citing US officials, that “there are fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin will resort to a ‘demonstration nuclear explosion’, stressing that ‘there is no evidence that Putin is in the process of transferring nuclear weapons’.”

She noted that there are fears that “the most dangerous moments of the war in Ukraine are yet to come”, noting that “Putin may consider some additional military mobilization in response to recent setbacks.”

Earlier in the day, US President Joe Biden said: “We warn Russia against using nuclear weapons in the war against Ukraine.”

When asked about the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, the press secretary of the Russian president (Kremlin) Dmitry Peskov replied that everything is mentioned in Russia’s nuclear doctrine.

On September 3, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia could use nuclear weapons if its existence is in danger, and this is present in the Russian military doctrine, noting: “I remind you that the Russian military doctrine, as well as documents such policy in the field of nuclear deterrence”, they comprehensively defined all the scenarios in which we could theoretically use nuclear weapons. Such scenarios of aggression against Russia and its allies with the use of weapons of mass destruction or aggression with the use of conventional weapons, when the very existence of the country is threatened.”