Russia could have used nuclear weapons against Ukraine when the Ukrainian Armed Forces broke through enemy defenses in the Kharkiv region and the entire occupation operation was on the verge of collapse.

Axar.az reports that this statement was made by General Mykola Malomuzh, who led Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service from 2005 to 2010.

He noted that the risk of a nuclear strike by the Russian Federation significantly escalated in the second half of 2022:

"As is known, it was then that a large-scale counteroffensive by the Ukrainian Defense Forces began in the Kharkiv region, when Ukrainian soldiers unexpectedly broke through the Russian defenses and moved directly towards Luhansk."

According to the general, it was at that moment that Putin's entire occupation operation was on the verge of collapse:

"Putin had no alternatives and envisaged the possibility of launching either tactical or, if there was a confrontation with NATO, ballistic strikes. But at that time, there were meetings between Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Moscow and Putin in Beijing. During them, the Chinese leader sternly warned Putin not to use nuclear weapons in any format."

He added that China later warned that if Russia took such steps and a nuclear threat escalated, China would side with NATO.