Al-Duwairi added - in his speech to the “Beyond the News” program (9/17/2022) - that the Russian military doctrine considers that the best and fastest method of deterrence is tactical nuclear weapons, but he ruled out that the level of conflict would move to the strategic nuclear triad through submarines, planes and passing missiles. for continents.
He attributed this to the options that are still available to Russia, as it has 1.2 million fighters distributed over 5 military regions, and the Russian alternative may be an escalation in which hypersonic missile capabilities are used.
On the Russian side, Andrei Fedorov, the former Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, considered that the coming days will be decisive in Russia's war on Ukraine, explaining that Russia needs to organize a strong operation and counterattacks in order to regain the lands it lost as well as to advance further towards Kharkiv.
He ruled out the possibility of a threat to use a tactical nuclear weapon, because it is not urgently needed in the current situation, and if the Russian army were to achieve any victories in its next operation, the nuclear option would be out of the question, although a number of Russian officials are talking about the possibility of using it.
What does Washington say?
As for the researcher at the European Center of the Atlantic Council, Rachel Rizzo, she believed that the possibility of Putin resorting to nuclear weapons is still low, explaining that the debate in Washington revolves around the Ukrainian gains in recent weeks, as well as the weapons that the West sent to Ukraine during 7 months, as well as the course of the war in the future.
It is noteworthy that in an interview with the American network “CBS” (CBS), in response to a question about the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin resorting to the use of chemical or tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, US President Joe Biden issued a warning to his Russian counterpart against using such weapons to stop The progress of the Ukrainian army.
But US officials told the newspaper that there is no evidence that Putin is in the process of transferring nuclear weapons or that he is preparing to carry out any nuclear test.
On the other hand, in response to what was raised in Washington about Moscow's resort to the use of nuclear weapons, the Kremlin said that Russia would use nuclear weapons only based on its nuclear doctrine.
In this context, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko - who is considered an ally of Putin - said that humanity is on the verge of entering into a nuclear conflict.