Skip to content
Apply
Stories

Could Russia wage nuclear war in Ukraine? Local experts break down the threat

People in this story

NBC Boston, April 2022

The likelihood of Russian President Vladimir Putin using nuclear weapons in his war on Ukraine is growing, local experts say. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that “all of the countries of the world” should prepare for the possibility of tactical nuclear weapons on CNN earlier this week. Tactical nuclear weapons are typically described as smaller nuclear weapons that can be used in a targeted way on the battlefield, used at shorter ranges for “tactical” attacks use during military operations.

Harvard scholar Oleh Kotsyuba and Northeastern University professors Mai’a Cross and Pablo Calderon explained why Putin would use tactical nuclear weapons and what the outcome might be during NBC10 Boston’s weekly series, “Russia-Ukraine Q&A.”

Continue reading at NBC Boston.

More Stories

01/15/26 - BOSTON, MA. - Northeastern students, faculty and staff filled the East Village 17th floor event space for the annual A Tribute to the Dream event to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 15, 2026. The event featured President Joseph E. Aoun, Ted Landsmark, Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern's College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, '15, White House correspondent at The New York Times, and musical performances. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Landsmark urges continued vigilance to honor the legacy of MLK

01.16.2026
01/06/26 - BOSTON, MA. - Ted Landsmark, Northeastern Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and Director of the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center, poses for photos next to the “Watson and the Shark” painting by John Singleton Copley in the Museum of Fine Arts on Jan. 6, 2026. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Ted Landsmark: portrait of a leader

01.14.2026

How Donald Trump Should Tackle America’s Population Crisis

01.20.26
In the News