Expert: If Putin uses nukes, U.S. could wipe out Russian forces in Ukraine

The United States would likely respond with a sweeping economic embargo and massive attack on Russian military positions that could wipe out the Russian president's invading military forces.

According to the author of the book Nuclear Nightmares: Securing the World Before It Is Too Late, the U.S. and NATO could destroy the Russian forces in Ukraine. The end of the Russian army would be a result of that.

A direct U.S. or NATO military strike against the Russian military could spiral out of control. He said there were no good responses once you started the nuclear path. It's not easy to end it because a poker player is hesitant to fold. They think they have one more move they can make to cause the other side to fold. There isn't a good response.

It would not be a large-scale thermonuclear bomb attacks, but a more limited deployment of tactical weapons, if Putin were to make good on his threat to go nuclear. The U.S. military will not be limited to the battlefield. On the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, there would be a sharp increase in psychological warfare. Iraqi generals were told to stand down by the U.S. They did that because of two things. Let them know that we know where you live. Cirincione predicted that the U.S. would use such a tactic in the Ukrainian crisis.

Jake Sullivan, President Biden's national security adviser, said there would be "catastrophic consequences" if the Russians used nuclear weapons.

Even as Sullivan went public with the issue, he acknowledged that the threats had not deterred Putin from discussing the nuclear scenario. Last Friday, Putin gave a speech at the Kremlin in which he announced the annexation of four regions of Ukraine mostly occupied by Russia but where it is also getting pushed back by the Ukrainians. Russia would use all means to defend its territory, according to Putin. He said that the United States was the only country to use nuclear weapons in World War II, and that they created a precedent.

The fact that the U.S. has not curbed Putin's talk of nuclear weapons tells me that he's desperate and that the pressure on him is not enough. You're correct. He continues. Is he really going to do this? The answer is we don't know.

Russian military doctrine now explicitly contemplates the use of nuclear weapons, not just to respond to a nuclear attack on the country, but also in the event of a large scale conventional military attack that endangers Russia. The strategy is called "escalate to deescalate". A nuclear weapon will be used in a number of ways. The Russians would argue that they wouldn't start a nuclear war if they used tactical nuclear weapons. We will end a conventional war. They think that way. As Putin loses the war in Ukraine, you have to worry more about this. Nuclear weapons come into play in doctrine and in Putin's thinking.

He said he considers Putin a fascist. He's built a fascist regime in Russia. Nuclear weapons have never been seen by a fascist regime. We've had people who were authoritarian. We have had some brutal dictators, but nothing like this before. This is a very dangerous area.