An article on the website "The National Interest" warned that the continued escalation of Ukraine and the West will push Russia to use nuclear weapons, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly vowed.
In his article on the site, Dr. Dan Gorey, Vice President of the Lexington Institute for American Public Policy Research, said that Putin's recent steps of declaring partial mobilization and holding referendums in Ukrainian regions and annexing them to Russia are signs of his intention to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
In his article, Gauri highlighted that Putin, after his failure to stage a coup in Ukraine and his subsequent campaign to occupy lands in the east and south of the country, found a way to win by appearing as if he was losing, and that the continuation of the Ukrainian forces armed with Western weapons in their counterattack, would constitute a threat to the Russian territories that annexed them Moscow recently, which will compel Putin to do what he warned him would do, which is the use of nuclear weapons.
Regardless of whether Putin uses nuclear weapons against a target in Ukraine or uses them only for a show of force, this will inevitably undermine Western support for Kiev, as the United States and NATO will almost certainly not respond in kind.
This could lead to the collapse of NATO, which means that Putin may win by losing.
He pointed out that Putin is escalating a conventional war that he will not be able to win if the alliance between Western powers continues as it is now.
The West has begun an industrial and military expansion that will tip the strategic balance against Russia.
Russia has been forced to counter this by asking for help from two weak allies, Iran and North Korea, and declaring partial mobilization, but this step will not provide the Russian army with the means to change the situation on the battlefield and will lead to increased opposition to the Putin regime within Russia.
The writer believes that the escalation - in light of this situation - through the use of unconventional weapons will enable the Russian leader to achieve gains at home and achieve victory over external powers.
justifications
On the justifications on which Putin relies to justify the use of weapons of mass destruction, the writer says that the principles of the use of nuclear weapons in Russia state that the country's exposure to conventional aggression that threatens the nation's existence justifies the use of nuclear weapons.
In his speech, in which he announced the partial military mobilization, Putin mentioned that Russia faces an existential threat, and claimed that the West, through its support for Ukraine, seeks to destroy Russia and threaten all the Russian people.
The author of the article concluded that the Russian president believes that the war in Ukraine is necessary to repel the existential threat that lurks in Russia represented by NATO expansion and the West’s efforts to establish a pro-state in Ukraine, which justifies the use of nuclear weapons even if this leads to a global catastrophe.
He said that the Russian leader had stated before during a press interview in 2018, that the use of nuclear weapons is logical in principle, even if it causes a global catastrophe, and Putin asked, "What do we need in this world if Russia does not exist?"