"Presenter (Irina Tumakova): Do you suggest using nuclear weapons due to the considerations that their destruction force is much higher?

Anatoliy Volyntsev: Nuclear weapon, yes, the destruction force is much higher. This means, we can’t accumulate the same tonnage by conventional munition.

Presenter (Irina Tumakova): Well, nuclear weapon of what capacity do you suggest using?

Anatoliy Volyntsev: This is weapon of extra small and small yield. These are portions of kiloton. These are different version of tactical weapon. This weapon may be of tithes of kiloton.

Presenter (Irina Tumakova): Tactical nuclear weapon starts from 5 kilotons.

Anatoliy Volyntsev: There is extra small yield weapon. Americans have it, and we have it.

Presenter (Irina Tumakova): Ok, mountain. It is in the mountain (ed.: they are speaking about Beskyd railway tunnel in Ukraine).

Anatoliy Volyntsev: I repeat, portions of kiloton, tithes of kiloton.

Presenter (Irina Tumakova): Well, then it won’t be enough to destroy the mountain.

Anatoliy Volyntsev: It depends on what it's for. It depends on the object. Everything should be calculated, but according to my estimates, kiloton units will be enough for the Beskid tunnel. And it is desirable to use such ammunition, which thermonuclear reaction is the main active component. I mean, they're, uh, small hydrogen bombs. That is, what is proposed here is such a neat, I would say, gentle nuclear strike not on industrial or residential infrastructure, with minimal human casualties.

Presenter (Irina Tumakova): You say minimal based on what?

Anatoliy Volyntsev: I judge by those losses that can happen now.

Presenter (Irina Tumakova): Well, how many? 100? 1000? 30 000?

Anatoliy Volyntsev: I repeat that I judge by comparison with what is happening now in the frontline zone. Comparing to this. Much less. And much less that casualties among our civilians.

Presenter (Irina Tumakova): Excuse me, but you are writing in the letter that the Beskid Tunnel is in the thin populated area. I deliberately checked this on the map, there are rather many settlements around: Lavochnoye, Slavskoye, Verkhniy Studenyi, Nizhniy Studenyi. There are plenty of settlements, in the close vicinity.

Anatoliy Volyntsev: I understand. Something will be there

Presenter (Irina Tumakova): At a distance of only 2 km.

Anatoliy Volyntsev: Two kilometers and a bit, yes. I repeat that we must proceed gently, carefully. I mean with buried munitions of limited power, so that it is the seismic wave deep in the rock that causes the tunnel to collapse first of all.

Presenter (Irina Tumakova): But all people living close to this tunnel will die.

Anatoliy Volyntsev: Yes, victims can’t be avoided, maybe. I can’t say how many will be. We need here good quality calculations, yes.

...

Anatoliy Volyntsev: I would say that we need to take just a missile like our Kindzhal, it will be quite capable of delivering this rather small charge, yes.

Presenter (Irina Tumakova): Nuclear?

Anatoliy Volyntsev: Yes, nuclear. At a high speed, that it is capable of, this charge inaudible so that it will explode. And it is all. We can destroy the mountain and produce a minimum amount of radioactive precipitation."