Top Russian Official Makes Call for Low-Yield Nukes After Moscow’s Loss of Key Area

Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov addresses service members while making a statement, dedicated to a military conflict in Ukraine, in Grozny, Russia, on Feb. 25, 2022. Chingis Kondarov/Reuters

A top Russian leader on Oct. 1 urged the Kremlin to consider deploying low-yield nuclear weapons in Ukraine after Russian troops retreated from Lyman, Ukraine.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of Chechnya, wrote on Telegram that he believes “more drastic measures should be taken, right up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons.”