Putin’s ‘incredibly dangerous’ nuclear threats raise the risk of an unprecedented disaster

Speaking in a rare, televised address on Wednesday, Putin warned that if the territorial integrity of Russia is threatened, the Kremlin would “certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people. It is not a bluff.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin's ultimatum to the West drastically increases the risk of a nuclear conflict.

In a rare televised address on Wednesday, Putin called up extra forces for the war in Ukraine and warned that the Kremlin would use all the means at its disposal to protect Russia and its people. It is not bluffing.

It was seen as a threat that Putin would use nuclear weapons to escalate the war after a string of successes for the Ukrainians.

The former president of Russia said that any weapons in Russia's arsenal could be used to defend its territories.

There are referendums on joining Russia in southern and eastern Ukraine. Roughly 15% of Ukrainian territory is expected to be covered by the votes in the Russia controlled regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

The outcome of the referendums is widely believed to have been pre- decided by the Kremlin.

According to political analysts, the Kremlin may view the Ukrainian military action against these areas as an attack against Russia.

Putin said that the citizens of Russia can be sure that the territorial integrity of their Motherland will be ensured.

Putin’s threats increase the risk of escalation to a nuclear conflict drastically. This is incredibly dangerous and irresponsible.

A senior researcher in the weapons of mass destruction and other strategic weapons programme at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament said that the statements went beyond the Russian nuclear doctrine.

The person who has the sole decision-making power regarding Russian nuclear weapons will have to be taken seriously according to the man.

No, this doesn't mean that Russia would use nuclear weapons. This would be a decision that would change the world.

Extending the conditions for possible use amidst the ongoing war is a huge gamble. Without Russia, it would be safer.

Biden urged allied U.N. leaders to reject Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Biden said at the U.N. headquarters in New York City that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that the alliance wouldn't engage in the same kind of rhetoric as President Putin.

Beatrice Fihn, Nobel laureate and executive director of the International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons, urged political leaders to renew efforts to get rid of all nuclear weapons by signing and ratifying the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

During the conflict with Ukraine, Putin mentioned Russia's nuclear weapons. Western leaders don't know if Moscow will use a weapon of mass destruction.

Zelenskyy told German media that he didn't think the world would allow Putin to use nukes.

The executive director of the International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons said that Putin's threats greatly increase the risk of a nuclear conflict.

Fihn said threats to use nuclear weapons lowered the threshold for their use. The taboo against using nuclear weapons is being eroded by politicians and commentators who discuss the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons without also discussing the devastating humanitarian impact of using nuclear weapons.

Fihn called for the international community to condemn any and all nuclear threats and urged political leaders to get rid of all nuclear weapons.

Max is a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

He said that the real threat from Putin was that he was prepared to use nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory.

This includes not only the Donetsk and Luhansk region, but also all of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, where Russians do not control their entirety.

For territories that are still under Ukrainian control with regards to Putin, what this means is still not known.

According to Timothy Ash, an emerging markets strategist at BlueBay Asset Management, there would be no negotiation if Putin used a tactical nuclear weapon.

In such a scenario, Putin is finished with the West and the rest of the non-aligned world will follow suit. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are referred to as the Brics.

Ash said that a WMD is a deterrent. It is denuded once it is used.