After its withdrawal from Kherson, Russia’s back is against the wall in Ukraine. Ukraine’s successful offensive has prompted concerns that Russian president Vladimir Putin might contemplate what President Joe Biden deemed nuclear “Armageddon” last month. This month even China joined the West in strongly condemning this Russian threat. Will Putin nonetheless resort to nuclear weapons to stave off defeat?
In fact, Russia is sufficiently deterred from using any nuclear weapons, including strategic and tactical warheads, a dirty bomb, or a nuclear plant meltdown. Fears that Putin might resort to nuclear weapons appeared at earlier junctures in this conflict. In September, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan issued a stark warning to Moscow after Russia’s latest nuclear threats that was reiterated again this month when CIA director William Burns met with his Russian counterpart in Ankara, Turkey to convey the “consequences of the use of nuclear weapons.”
