Tensions with the West have not cooled down yet, President Putin has declared that he is open to the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons near NATO. (Source: AFP)

In an interview with the YouTube channel Dialogue Works , Mr. McGovern affirmed: "The US, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky must accept a withdrawal from the conflict in Ukraine... the only option they have not used is nuclear weapons."

However, he noted that Russia is ready to retaliate with a nuclear strike, but Moscow will not strike first for different reasons than the West. “I do not think the Russians are preparing to be the first to use nuclear weapons, despite their claims of changing their nuclear doctrine, simply because by all sacred rules, they have won,” Mr. McGovern said.

In late June, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia might change its nuclear doctrine. He explained that the decision was made in the context of discussions about lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.

Also in June (June 12), when talking to reporters before a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, including a meeting on the alliance's nuclear planning, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO's nuclear weapons are "the ultimate security guarantee" and a means to maintain peace.

Although it is well known that the US has deployed nuclear bombs to several locations in Europe, NATO rarely speaks publicly about these weapons.