While there’s no sign right now of Russian preparations to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, U.S. and NATO officials are taking Putin’s latest threats “very seriously.”
A Russian ex-oligarch who knows Putin well predicts he’ll try to turn things around with the 300,000 men he’s mobilizing, but if that fails he may resort to tactical nuclear attacks early next year (watch video here).
On Sunday, October 2, 2022, The Hill reported, “Current and former U.S. officials on Sunday said that although there is nobody in Russia who could stop Putin from deploying nuclear weapons, such a move would guarantee a cataclysmic response from the U.S. and its NATO allies.” A Biden administration spokesman early spoke of a “consequential response,” and more recently of “catastrophic consequences.” (Read story here.)
What does that mean?
Most observers agree the U.S. and NATO would have to respond to a Russian nuclear attack with force, but believe the response would be conventional not nuclear. It would likely target Russia’s tactical nuclear launchers, certainly Russian troops and equipment in Ukraine, and probably also Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Retired U.S. Gen. David Petraeus thinks NATO would “take out” Russia’s conventional forces in Ukraine and Crimea.
If things escalated from there, then I would wonder whether Putin’s inner circle would take him out to save their own skins.