If one of Putin's top officials ever disobeyed an order to launch a nuclear strike, he would face a coup.
Grozev told Radio Liberty that a coup would take place if only one of the five hands was needed for a Russian nuclear launch.
He said that after the refusal to comply with the order of the king, everything will go down very quickly.
According to Metro, Grozev said that Putin may be under pressure from his inner circle to escalate the invasion of Ukraine.
Grozev said that the Russian leader must first make sure everyone in the chain will carry out the order before he considers approving such a launch.
The investigator said that if one person in the chain of command refused to comply it would be a signal of insubordination that could cause the death of Putin.
Grozev said that until he is sure that everyone will comply, he won't give the order.
The investigator said that it was likely that leading officials wouldn't follow through with the command because they thought Putin wouldn't stay in power for long.
The president of Russia would have to make a decision about a nuclear strike, since he always has a small briefcase with his side that links him to the country's nuclear forces, according to a 2020 nuclear policy document.
The briefcase doesn't have a launch button, but it relays the order to Russia's central military command.
Two other lead officials would need to follow through with Putin's command even if he decided to launch such an attack.
According to several intelligence reports, a nuclear strike can only be carried out if the defence minister and chief of the general staff authorize the launch.
According to the Arms Control Association, Russia claims to have more nuclear warheads than the US.
The military intelligence chief of Ukraine said last week that a coup was underway and that the Russian leader was battling cancer. Western intelligence agencies have not verified the claims.
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