19:19 01-06-2026

Kolesnik Warns NATO Over Russia’s Nuclear Carrier Targets

Andrey Kolesnik says Russia would target NATO nuclear weapon carriers first in a direct threat, warning any major conflict could escalate quickly.

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State Duma Defense Committee member Andrey Kolesnik said that if NATO poses a direct threat to Russia, Russian forces would first target systems capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

According to him, the Russian Armed Forces have the necessary resources to carry out such a task. Kolesnik listed silo-based ballistic missiles in France among the priority targets, along with other platforms capable of carrying nuclear warheads, including British nuclear-powered submarines armed with ballistic missiles.

He said such systems would have to be neutralized first, adding that Russia tracks them regardless of where they are based. In the event of an open conflict and a direct attack on the Russian Federation, he said, those assets would be destroyed.

Kolesnik believes that any large-scale conflict involving conventional weapons could eventually escalate to the use of tactical and then strategic arms. For that reason, he argued that Moscow would seek to prevent such a scenario and act preemptively.

The deputy also said there would be no winner in a nuclear war. At the same time, he claimed that Russia’s vast territory gives it more room for survival, while European countries do not have the same option.