Russia Protest Demands Nuclear Weapons Be Aimed at US Cities

A group of Russian National Liberation Movement (NOD) members chanted and marched through the streets calling for Russian nuclear warheads and missiles to be pointed at American cities, according to a video posted Thursday.

In the video, uploaded by Julia Davis, founder of the Russia Media Monitor watchdog group, the anti-Western nationalist group is seen marching through the rain while listing the warheads they want directed at U.S. cities.

A protest leader shouts in Russian: "Yars, Sarmat, Poseidon, We are aiming at Washington!" referring to RS-24 Yars missiles, which can carry multiple nuclear warheads, RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles and Poseidon torpedoes.

Members of the pro-Kremlin NOD group, founded by Yevgeny Fyodorov, carried a black and orange striped flag, with some, like the leader, pinning it to their shirts. The ribbon of St. George, which has a long history of commemorating World War II veterans, has become a symbol of Russia nationalism and militarism in recent years and in 2017 was banned in Ukraine.

The video depicts a car in the middle of the marching protesters with an orange missile affixed to its roof. The group has previously protested outside the U.S. Embassy with a similar missile prop.

The protest occurred amid Russia's repeated threats to use nuclear weapons against the U.S. and NATO countries during the more than 2-year-long Russia-Ukraine war following Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022. Recently, Russia has begun carrying out tactical nuclear weapons deployment exercises.

On Friday, in a meeting with the country's Foreign Ministry leadership, Russian President Vladmir Putin warned "we have come unacceptably close to the point of no return," referencing Russia's threat to deploy nuclear weapons.

According to the state-run news agency Tass, Putin said that the West is
"either unaware of the scale of the threat they themselves pose or are simply obsessed with the belief in their own impunity and their own exceptionalism. Both can turn into tragedy."

Putin's comments came a day after the U.S. and Ukraine signed a 10-year security agreement that seeks to build and maintain Ukraine's defense and deterrence capabilities.

John Isaacs, senior fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, a nonpartisan nonprofit aiming to reduce nuclear threats, told Newsweek in a phone interview that Putin's recent rhetoric and warnings are "threats trying to effect NATO and U.S. behavior."

He added that in light of the agreement, "Putin, I believe, is doing everything he can to pretend that, 'United States, if you don't behave, you're going to suffer the consequences.'" He said the threat is one of the few moves Putin has left.

"In the absence of some victory or taking over Ukraine, the best Putin can do is threaten," Isaacs said. "The United States should treat it as a false flag, a threat that is not going to be carried through, that cannot be carried through for Russia and the United States' sake.

"If Putin started using nuclear weapons, he would die, so would a lot of people in Russia, a lot of people in the United States or NATO would die—in other words, it's suicidal for any country."

Isaacs explained the gravity and utter obliteration of nuclear warfare, saying that "you have nuclear weapons, you are talking about ending most life on earth—extensive damage in your own country as well as other countries."

Russia has an estimated 5,580 nuclear warheads, according to a 2024 report by the Federation of American Scientists, which says the U.S. has 5,044. Seven other countries possess nuclear weapons, but they are reportedly nowhere close to the U.S. and Russian stockpiles.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian presidential press office for comment via email on Friday.

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