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An influential member of a Russian think tank has suggested Moscow consider a “demonstrative” nuclear explosion to deter the West from allowing Ukraine to target Russia with Western weapons.

Dmitry Suslov, from the Moscow-based Council for Foreign and Defence Policy, made this proposal shortly after President Vladimir Putin warned NATO members in Europe that enabling Kyiv to strike deep inside Russia could lead to a global war.

Suslov said, “To confirm the seriousness of Russia’s intentions and to convince our opponents of Moscow’s readiness to escalate, it is worth considering a demonstrative (i.e. non-combat) nuclear explosion.” He continued, “The political and psychological effect of a nuclear mushroom cloud, which will be shown live on all TV channels around the world, will hopefully remind Western politicians of the one thing that has prevented wars between the great powers since 1945 and that they have now largely lost – fear of nuclear war.”

This development comes amid increasing calls from Ukraine and its Western allies to allow Ukrainian soldiers to use Western-supplied weapons to strike military targets within Russia’s internationally recognized territory. While there has been growing support, the United States has reiterated that it is against Ukraine using US-provided weapons to strike targets within Russia.