Oleksandr Lytvynenko, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, suggested that Vladimir Putin might resort to tactical nuclear weapons if Russia faces a catastrophic defeat in the war with Ukraine, said in an interview with The Times,
“We cannot rule out anything if Russia is on the verge of catastrophic defeat,” Lytvynenko said in response to a question under what circumstances Putin might resort to the use of nuclear weapons.
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Lytvynenko said that such strategic defeat could potentially trigger the collapse of Russian fronts, mass desertions, and widespread protests in Moscow.
However, if Russia maintains its battlefield advantage, Putin’s use of nuclear weapons is improbable.
This could involve non-strategic nuclear weapons, also known as tactical nuclear weapons, which are designed for use on the battlefield. These warheads have not yet been used in combat and could be delivered via missiles, aircraft, or artillery.
While they may not be as potentially devastating as strategic nuclear weapons, which can destroy entire cities, they still have the potential to be highly destructive, far more so than the two nuclear weapons used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan at the end of World War II.
Lytvynenko has ruled out the use of the more deadly strategic nuclear weapons, which he said could potentially ignite a third world war.
He said it would be the worst-case scenario, and currently, Putin “wants to live” and would avoid such dead-end decisions.
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Kremlin warnings about nuclear escalation have become more frequent and urgent recently, partly due to changes in the policies of Ukraine’s Western allies.
Countries such as the UK, France, the US, and Germany have authorized Ukraine to employ their weapons against military targets in Russia, sparking concerns about potential nuclear retaliation.
Furthermore, French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to send French troops to train Ukrainian forces has added to these fears.