Ukraine Will Push to Reclaim More Territory Through Winter, U. S. Defense Chief Says – The New York Times

“We are more anxious now, especially after yesterday’s attacks, ” Mr. Kadet said on Tuesday, the day after a series of Russian missile attacks across Ukraine. “But we do think that in case of a nuclear explosion, we will be able to survive if all of us stay in the shelter for some time. ”

The fears of escalation rose on Saturday after an attack on the particular 12-mile Kerch Strait Bridge connecting Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014 . Initially, Ukrainians celebrated, but that quickly gave way to worry that will such a brazen assault on a symbol of President Vladimir V. Putin’s rule could prompt a severe retaliation.

Even before these recent events, though, concerns about the potential for a nuclear disaster had increasingly been making their way into Ukraine’s national psyche. The fear is that Russia could either use tactical nuclear arms or launch a conventional attack on one of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.

U. S. officials have said they think the chances of Russia’s using nuclear weapons are low , and senior American officials say they have seen no evidence that Mr. Putin is moving any of his nuclear assets.

On Sunday, Mr. Putin called the assault on the bridge a “terrorist attack aimed at destroying the critically important civilian infrastructure associated with the Russian Federation. ”

But his spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, appeared to tamp down fears of a nuclear reprisal, saying that the particular attack on the bridge did not fall within the category under Russia’s defense doctrine that allowed for such a response.

Last month, Mr. Putin raised fears that he could resort to nuclear weapons when he warned that he would “use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people, ” if Russian-controlled territory was threatened.

“This is not a bluff, ” he said.

Days later, Russia illegally annexed four Ukrainian territories .

Mr. Kadet, who noted that he experienced begun preparing two weeks ago, said it felt better to have an action plan.

“It’s psychologically easier because you know you are at least somehow prepared for it, ” he said. “It’s not a guarantee this will save you, but at least you’re ready. ”

Residents of Kyiv said that they had felt wary even before the most recent missile strikes there upon Monday.

Immediately after the bridge attack, many Ukrainians had shared their glee on social media . They toasted triumphantly in the particular capital’s bars over the weekend, and posed for selfies in front associated with posters of the burning bridge.

But the worry soon set in.

“I feel this real fear about how the Russians will answer this, ” said Krystina Gevorkova, 30, who was shopping with her friend in Kyiv about Sunday. “Earlier it acquired felt safer here, ” she added. “Now, I have this feeling like something is going to happen. ”

Kyiv has for months already been spared the worst of the Russian onslaught while Moscow focused its attention instead on southeastern Ukraine. Yet on Monday, a Russian missile struck just blocks away from where Ms. Gevorkova had spoken.

She said that she had been reading up on how to stay safe during a nuclear war, but that she was skeptical that it would help.

“We can’t really do anything, ” she said.

The war has felt far from Kyiv in recent months, as life’s rhythms return to a semblance of normalcy after Russian forces were ousted from parts of northeastern Ukraine. Nevertheless, the city offers also been slowly preparing for a potential nuclear attack.

The Kyiv City Council said on Friday that potassium iodide pills would be distributed in order to residents in case of a nuclear incident “based on medical recommendations, ” adding that will the pills were also available in city pharmacies.

Potassium iodide is used to saturate a person’s thyroid with iodine so that radioactive iodine inhaled or ingested after exposure will not be retained by the particular gland.

Alina Bozhedomova, 23, a pharmacist in Kyiv, said that customers were coming within daily looking for the pills, but added, “I haven’t seen people panicking about it. ”

Some elementary schools have advised parents to prepare emergency packs for their children to keep with them at school.

Nadiia Stelmakh, 50, who works in a market selling home goods, said that will one mother had come to her with a list from the school that included latex gloves, a poncho, boot covers, tissues, wet wipes and a flashlight.

“People are really worried right now, ” the girl said. Her husband, Volodymyr Stelmakh, who has another stall nearby, agreed.

“I have a good emergency bag packed, ” he said, “but We think if the nuclear threat is imminent, you will have no time to run away.

After worries grew about the security of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the country’s southeast in current weeks, Ukraine’s Ministry of Health issued guidance about how to respond to a nuclear incident .

The risk of nuclear fallout can feel very real in Ukraine, the country that still bears the scars from the Chernobyl accident in 1986, one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. Chernobyl is only about 60 miles north of Kyiv.

And some that experienced the life-threatening fallout firsthand say that these people, possibly more than anyone, understand the full risk associated with nuclear exposure. Oleksandr, 55, who asked that their last name not be used, said that he plus his family had fled Chernobyl for Kyiv immediately after the meltdown, when he was just 18.

His family closely followed guidance to move south, as winds had been pushing radioactive materials north, and he said that was the only reason they will escaped unscathed.

“Now, people here are really not ready. People don’t know what to do, ” he said. “There is not enough information. ”

He owns a market stand that sells household necessities and stated that more people had come in during the past two weeks preparing for a nuclear disaster, buying flashlights, batteries, knives, radios and small camp stoves.

While some were preparing for the worst, others remained optimistic that Russia would never carry out such an extreme attack, which would draw international outrage.

Dmytro Yastrub, 31, mentioned he felt more concerned about Mr. Putin making use of conventional weapons to target Kyiv.

“I presume something will happen” after the bridge strike, he said, standing outside a bar in the particular Kyiv city center upon Sunday evening with the group of friends. But , he added, the risk of a nuclear attack was not weighing heavy on his mind.

Svetlana Zozulia, 47, and her husband, Vladyslav Zozulia, 37, were walking in central Kyiv with their daughter, Anastasiia, 11, on Sunday night. Ms. Zozulia said she tried in order to remain optimistic and do not believe that Mr. Putin would launch a nuclear attack on Ukraine.

But she did buy potassium iodide tablets just in case, the lady said.

“I think our success disturbs him, ” Ms. Zozulia said. “But there is also a threat regarding him if he chooses a nuclear attack. ”

Oleksandra Mykolyshyn contributed reporting