A Russian parliamentarian and military veteran has revealed a plan to paralyze the European continent in one fell swoop by attacking the Netherlands with a nuclear bomb.
The chilling threat was made on Russian state television by Lieutenant General Andrey Gurulev, a hardline parliamentarian from Vladimir Putin’s “United Russia” party, in a discussion with prominent propagandist Vladimir Solovyov.
He told Russian state television that a nuclear attack would flood the country and destroy its dams and dikes.
“Between 50 and 60 percent of Europe’s hydrocarbon supply is in the Netherlands,” Gurulev said. ‘Imagine, in Holland, on the coast. The military calls this a big target…
“We fully understand how to inflict critically unacceptable damage to bring Europe to its knees.”
The MP’s nuclear saber-rattling comes days after the Netherlands said it would allow the Ukrainian air force to use its 24 F-16 fighter jets to carry out strikes in Russia.
Lieutenant General Andrey Gurulev, 56, returned to Russian television after six months of absence and proposed dropping a nuclear bomb on the Netherlands to bring Europe to its knees.
Gurulev told Russian state television that a nuclear attack would flood the Netherlands and destroy its dams and dikes.
The MP’s nuclear saber-rattling comes days after the Netherlands said it would allow the Ukrainian air force to use its 24 F-16 fighter jets to carry out strikes in Russia (the fighter jet is pictured F16 of the Royal Netherlands Air Force).
A Yars intercontinental ballistic nuclear missile is fired during training, from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the northern Arkhangelsk region, Russia, in this still image taken from a video released March 1, 2024.
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren and Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar speak to the media at the European F-16 training center inside the Romanian 86th Air Base in Fetesti, Romania, as the The Netherlands delivered three F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine on April 17, 2024.
Lieutenant General Gurulev said: “This is a matter of one day.” With minimal consumption of nuclear weapons. Not only will they destroy all oil refining, but Holland will be shocked.
“The dams will fall immediately, everything… will flood.”
He boasted to Putin’s propagandist Soloviev: “I assure you one hundred percent that after that everything will be completely dead in Europe.”
Solovyov suggested using Russia’s new, supposedly 125 mph Poseidon underwater weapon, an underwater drone with a 100-megaton warhead.
But Gurulev said two normal nuclear weapons would finish off the Netherlands.
‘One may be shot down, the second will fly. That will be enough.’
He made it clear that such an attack on the Netherlands was in the “catalogue of objectives” of the Russian military machine.
The trigger-happy general was returning to propaganda television after an unexplained six-month absence.
Solovyov said: “Let me remind you that the Netherlands is the same country that allowed Ukraine to use F-16s… in our airspace.”
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren was confirmed last week in an interview with Politico that the Netherlands’ F-16s will be offered to the Ukrainian air force without limits on their use in the war effort.
Ollongren said there was no “Belgian-style restriction,” referring to Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo’s warning that kyiv will not fly F-16 jets coming from Belgium into Russian airspace.
Lieutenant General Andrey Gurulev, 56 years old
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed for the United States Air Force, but used by militaries around the world.
A Ukrainian army stands next to F-16 fighter jets during an inspection visit by the President of Ukraine to Belgium on a deal to help Kiev fight the Russian invasion, at Melsbroek military airport in Steenokkerzeel, northeast of Brussels, May 28, 2024.
In this photo released by the press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense on Friday, May 17, 2024, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launcher is seen during a military exercise in Russia.
“We are applying the same principle that we have applied to any other delivery of capabilities, that is, once we deliver them to Ukraine, they will be able to use them,” Ollongren said.
“We only ask that you respect international law and the right to self-defense as established in the UN Charter, which means that you use it to achieve the military objectives that you need to achieve in your self-defense,” Ollongren added.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed for the United States Air Force, but used by militaries around the world.
Although Russia’s air defenses still pose a considerable threat to the F-16, the jets are seen as vital to Ukraine’s air force, whose aging fleet has struggled to match the prowess of more capable and modern Russian aircraft.
As of early 2022, Ukraine had 71 Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters, 14 Su-24M bombers and 31 Su-25 attack aircraft, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ annual Military Balance report.
But kyiv is now believed to have fewer than 78 combat-capable aircraft due to losses and maintenance difficulties.
The F-16s would certainly provide a welcome boost to Ukraine’s air capabilities, but experts have warned that they will require much more maintenance and are more “sensitive” than the Soviet jets Ukrainian pilots are used to flying.