Remember when a former Russian general said military leaders needed to use a nuclear weapon on Ukraine?

The Ukrainian summer counter-offensive of 2023 was a difficult period of time for Russia. There were moments when it looked as if Kyiv could have broken through Russian defenses and taken back the territory Moscow captured after it launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

What plans the Kremlin might have had up its sleeves to halt any breakthrough in the critical summer months of 2023 may never be known, but there was one former Russian general who called on military leaders to use a nuclear weapon to halt the Ukrainians if they made progress against Russian forces in Zaporizhzhia.

Former Lieutenant General—and Russian State Duma Deputy—Andrey Gurulyov stated that Russian military officials needed to target the recently captured village of Robotyne according to a quote published by The Telegraph at the time. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Gobon76, Own Work, CC BY-SA 4.0

“The village of Rabotino is an ideal place for the use of tactical nuclear weapons,” Gurulyov said referring to the town of Robotyne. “They [Ukrainians] have all gathered there in one place... It’s just perfect," the former lieutenant general added. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Андрей Кречетов - Сфотографировали в Кабинете, CC BY-SA 4.0

Ukrainian forces had recaptured Robotyne from Russian troops on August 28th, 2023 after weeks of grinding against stiff Russian resistance in the area. The village was a key step toward Kyiv's goal of pushing Russia out of southern Ukraine. 

It was speculated at the time that Ukrainian officials were hoping to recapture the southern portion of the country and ultimately liberate major cities like Melitipol and Mariupol, but to do so Kyiv needed to cut off Russian supply and logistics lines to weaken troops in the region. 

Robotyne was an important accomplishment on the road to recapturing southern Ukraine, which may be why Gurulyov commented on it being the perfect place to launch a tactical nuclear strike to halt the Ukrainian counter-offensive. 

Robotyne is located about six miles from the frontline village of Orikhiv and the town's capture opened the way for Ukrainian forces to advance to Tokmak, Reuters reported. This was another key city Kyiv needed to recapture to control the flow of Russian supplies in the south. 

At the time, Tomkak was an important Russian road and rail hub. The town's capture would have put pressure on the Russian military in the south by driving a wedge between Moscow’s military forces in the northern and southern positions of the territory that they occupied. 

"Stabilization measures, demining, and preparations for further actions are underway," the Tavriisk Group of Forces Spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun said about Robotyne less than a week before Gurulyov made his comments about the town being the perfect place for a nuclear strike. 

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported at the time that the military was already on the move from Robotyne and was working on advancing against its next southern targets. 

“Robotyne has been liberated and our troops are moving southeast,” Maliar explained on August 28th according to a translation of her comments by the Kyiv Post. 

Forbes reported that Ukraine's 46th Air Mobile and 82nd Air Assault Bridges were already flanking and attacking the next settlement it needed to capture on the road to Tokmak: Novoprokopivka. 

The speed at which Ukraine was making gains in the south at the time might have been why former Lieutenant General Gurulyov saw no other option than a nuclear strike to stop the Ukrainian advance.

Luckily, no Russian military leaders took Gurulyov's advice, and as we now know, the moment behind Ukriane's counter-offensive would eventually culminate in few further gains. The Ukrainians failed to achieve any of their major objectives and the initiative in the war eventually swung back into Russia's favor for months.