Russian Official Floats New NATO Target for Nuclear Strike

Moscow should carry out a nuclear strike in the heart of Europe to cripple the continent's energy facilities, a Russian politician has told a Kremlin propaganda media outlet.

Andrey Gurulyov, a lawmaker with the Russian parliament (Duma) and a former deputy commander of Russia's Southern Military District, made the comments during an appearance on the Russia 1 program, Evening With Vladimir Solovyov.

Guests on the show, including Gurulyov, frequently issue threats against the West and call for strikes on countries that support Ukraine.

Gurulyov returned to this theme, saying he had discovered 50 to 60 percent of Europe's hydrocarbon supply is located in the Netherlands. It is not clear which figures he was citing and he did not name a city but Rotterdam is a hydrocarbon gateway that 13 percent of all energy in Europe comes through.

"That shore is called a rather 'fat target' by the military," Gurulyov said. "There is a catalog of existing targets right? Right. We know very well how to deliver critical damage and put it on its knees—in fact it can be done in a day with the minimal use of our nuclear arsenal."

The anchor Vladimir Solovyov, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, sought clarification from Gurulyov on whether he meant a nuclear strike was needed. The lawmaker replied: "For sure. I think we need to display our decisiveness—what is there to be afraid of?"

Next to a clip of the discussion, the X account WarTranslated wrote: "A member of the so-called Russian parliament, Andrey [Gurulyov], known for his freakish behavior, proposed striking the Netherlands with nuclear weapons in order to bring Europe to its knees."

Newsweek has contacted the Dutch foreign ministry for comment.

Gurulyov has repeatedly framed Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a proxy war between Moscow and the West. In 2022 he warned of a "colossal" conflict with NATO and in December 2023 he said that Putin's war will go "further" than Ukraine.

Since the start of Putin's invasion, Moscow has engaged in nuclear saber rattling. Although the U.S. has assessed that the threat of Russia using non-conventional weapons is low for the moment, this has not stopped Putin from sending mixed messages about his intentions.

Last month, the Russian president ordered his military to practice the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons because of what he said were threats from France, Britain and the U.S.

The Russian Ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, has warned against underestimating the threat of nuclear war after the NATO member pledged to deliver 19 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine this summer.

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