Kathrine Frich
Fears of a broader global conflict continue to shadow Russia’s war in Ukraine.
As fighting grinds on into its fifth year, rhetoric around escalation and nuclear threats has again moved to the forefront of international debate.
According to reporting by Metro, seven locations in the United States were previously highlighted on Russian state television as potential nuclear targets in the event of a major confrontation.
War rhetoric rises
The speculation comes amid mounting warnings about the risk of the conflict expanding beyond Ukraine’s borders.
The BBC has reported heavy losses on both sides, estimating up to 400,000 Russian troops and 200,000 Ukrainian soldiers, volunteers and draftees have been killed since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Russia has repeatedly used long-range ballistic and hypersonic missiles against Ukrainian infrastructure, while Kyiv has developed its own domestically produced long-range weapons in response.
Against that backdrop, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected suggestions that Ukraine’s actions could trigger a new world war.
“I believe that Putin has already started it,” he told the BBC.
“The question is how much territory he will be able to seize and how to stop him… Russia wants to impose on the world a different way of life and change the lives people have chosen for themselves.”
Sites highlighted
Metro reported that during an earlier phase of the invasion, Russian state television aired a list of US locations it claimed would be among the first targets in a nuclear strike scenario.
The sites named were:
Virginia – The Pentagon
Maryland – Camp David
Maryland – Fort Ritchie
Texas – Amarillo
New Mexico – Albuquerque
California – Sacramento
Washington – Oso
While some are clear military or government centres, others have prompted questions among analysts.
Strategic questions
Fort Ritchie, for example, has been decommissioned, though it lies near the Raven Rock Mountain Complex, sometimes described as an underground backup command facility.
Sacramento’s inclusion has also been viewed by some observers as reflecting older Cold War assumptions rather than present-day strategic priorities.
Using the open-source modelling tool Nuke Map, Metro noted that a strike on a major urban centre such as Sacramento could cause catastrophic casualties, potentially killing 100,000 people instantly depending on the weapon used.
It remains unclear whether the broadcast formed part of a broader strategy of deterrence or state disinformation.
The Kremlin has not publicly confirmed any formal list of US nuclear targets.
Sources: Metro, BBC
