In light of the Ukraine crisis, Putin issues a warning that he is prepared to protect Russia with nuclear weapons. On whether he is bluffing, Western politicians, diplomats, and nuclear weapons experts disagree. Some claim he could defend himself with one or more smaller tactical nuclear weapons. Others believe he wants to frighten the West, protect his administration, or avoid a military loss.
Breaking the nuclear taboo would be a sign of desperation. Putin controls the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, including hypersonic weapons and ten times more tactical nuclear weapons than the West. Whether or not Putin does go nuclear may ultimately depend on how cornered he feels in a conflict. Former British ambassador to Russia: ‘I wouldn’t bet that they wouldn’t go for the nuclear demonstration’. Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of discussing a potential nuclear attack on Russia. He has warned that Russia will use all available means to defend itself against such an attack.
The Biden administration has taken Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to deploy nuclear weapons on the United States ‘deadly seriously’. Although Washington’s planned course of action has not been made clear, the majority of experts believe that a large-scale conventional attack against Russian military assets would be more likely because employing a nuclear weapon may result in a nuclear escalation.
BREAKING THE ICE
It would be the first use of nuclear weapons in combat since 1945 if Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the order to launch one within Ukraine. Weapons with a shorter range and lesser yield that are launched from the sea, the air, or the ground may theoretically be deployed against Ukrainian military objectives.
Another choice, according to them, would be for Putin to detonate such a weapon over an uninhabited, isolated location or a body of water, such as the Black Sea, as a menacing declaration of intent. A small Russian tactical weapon may have a radioactive fallout radius of only a few kilometres, but its psychological and geopolitical effects would be felt all across the world. Richard K. Betts, a professor of war and peace studies at Columbia University, claimed that Putin was engaged in a high-stakes game of chicken. Even if the odds against his going nuclear are not excellent, if I had to wager money, I would probably do it at a 3:2 ratio.
TRACKING
Spy planes are deployed near the Russian border, tracking missile activity. Analyst says Washington would know ‘pretty quickly’ if Russia was gearing up for a nuclear strike. Start a nuclear war to break this taboo that has lasted since 1945 for such small gains. Taking a threat seriously means assuming it would be an emotional act of desperation from Vladimir Putin, expert says. ‘In its aggressive anti-Russian policy, the West has crossed every line,’ Putin said in his Sept. 21 warning to Ukraine’s President.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, increased worldwide inflation, and the biggest Western-Russian conflict since the height of the Cold War. Following ‘aggression against the Russian Federation with conventional weapons when the fundamental existence of the state is threatened,’ according to Russian nuclear doctrine, a nuclear strike is permitted. Putin may now actually mean it when he threatens a regime change in Russia, according to the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Joe Biden, the vice president of the United States, declared in March that Putin ‘cannot remain in power’. Kremlin hawks assert that the West is attempting to remove Putin, who has been in office since 1999. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, president of Ukraine, said on Sunday on CBS that Putin may now be serious after previously dismissing Russian warnings. ‘Hey, maybe that was a bluff yesterday. This time, it might come to pass’.
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