And drop them on infantry? Towards what effect besides terror? Makes little military sense, but would cement Putin’s legacy as a total loon.
And does Russia even have such a thing as a “low yield” weapon in their inventory? I suppose they have had a few months go over any they have and do maintenance, but reliability of Russia’s old bombs has to be questionable. Might be even worse for them if they lit one and it fizzled.
When the Chinese crossed the Yalu River, General Douglas MacArthur urged the spread of radioactive cesium to halt the intrusion. His request was turned down in Washington.
And based on the maintenance we’ve seen for all of the other systems, how many would have to be used for one to actually work?
And does Russia even have such a thing as a “low yield” weapon in their inventory?
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In terms of tactical nuclear weapons, Russian got from the former Soviet Union - it’s all from the Soviet Union. They have two artillery shells:
One is RD-4, it’s for 152mm howitzers, it can shoot ~70 kilometers and it’s 2 or 2.5 kilotons. For reference, I think smallest bomb in Japan in 1945 was about 15 or 16Kt; if it’s 2Kt, then it’s probably one shell is 1/8th of that.
There is the RD-5 for 203mm howitzer which is only 2 kilotons; I’m not sure why the smaller caliber is 2.5Kt. That’s just the information I got and the 203mm howitzer can shoot for ~50 kilometers, it’s 1/8th smaller nuclear bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, Nagasaki - whichever one had the smaller one, because they were not not the same in their capabilities.
From War in Ukraine, Sept 28, 2022
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP2QApi8G2TKc8NZmeDWSUg/videos
It would be considered a war crime, on the same level as the Third Reich committed in WWII.