Robert Fox opened up about the Kremlin’s aims in the European nation, setting out a worrying scenario in which Russia could stage a ‘false flag’ operation to continue fighting Ukraine
A journalist has made a startling claim that Vladimir Putin might stage a nuclear attack on his own country to justify continued fighting in Ukraine.
This comes on the heels of Putin’s recent press conference in Moscow, where he expressed support for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but raised concerns about the details.
Putin stated that any ceasefire must lead to “an enduring peace and remove the root causes of this crisis”, but his words failed to convince Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky believes Putin is “afraid to say directly” to US President Donald Trump that he “wants to kill Ukrainians” and “wants to continue this war”, a view that seems to be shared by journalist Robert Fox.
Writing in the i newspaper, he shared his thoughts about the Kremlin’s aims in the besieged nation, saying that it wants to claim Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which are “partially conquered”, for Russia.
Robert said: “This provides an obvious trip-wire for a nuclear incident, the design disguised as an accident. An attack on them could be deemed to be an attack on sovereign Russia, triggering a tactical nuclear strike.
“Zaporizhzhia presents a specific risk of nuclear flare-up. It has the largest of Ukraine’s dozen or so nuclear power plants – only four are still working – and is possibly the largest in Europe.
“Zaporizhzhia and several other nuclear facilities across Ukraine, including Russian-occupied Crimea, could be the setting for a ‘false flag’ provocation – an incident triggered by one side’s saboteurs to then be blamed on the enemy.”
President Zelensky responded sharply to Putin’s discourse, labelling it as “very predictable” and indicative of his strategy to “drag things out”. Zelensky further condemned Putin, claiming he has “stolen years of peace” and is prolonging the conflict.
Following Zelensky’s strong stance, there came more hopeful words from Trump, who saw a silver lining in Putin’s address. Describing the Russian leader’s statements as “promising”, Trump urged Putin to “do the right thing” and commit to the ceasefire.
Amidst these political exchanges, Newsweek shed light on Russia’s formidable nuclear arsenal, revealing that the country possesses approximately 5,580 nuclear warheads. This number includes roughly 1,200 decommissioned heads and an estimated 4,380 stockpiled, as per data from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).
Ever since unleashing a full-scale assault on Ukraine in 2022, Putin has amped up his nuclear threats, warning that Russia might resort to nuclear retaliation against any state launching a conventional arms attack.
Additionally, in September 2024, Putin stated a readiness to deploy these apocalyptic weapons should Russia obtain “reliable information” about imminent attacks involving extensive use of drones, missiles, or aircraft, according to the Guardian.
Discussing the possible ceasefire, the Russian president asserted that Ukraine is in favour of the agreement as it currently finds itself on the back foot due to Russian advancements in the Kursk region.
He also insinuated that Ukraine might seize this lull in combat to rearm and mobilise, an accusation that could equally be levelled at Putin himself.