Nuclear WeaponsTwo Major Roles of Strategic

Birmingham. Is Russia now headed by someone who would consider using nuclear weapons without major concern? With regard to Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has given some very big signals that he is ready to cross that strategic boundary. Russia and its allies Belarus were engaged in nuclear drills just days before the invasion of Ukraine. In announcing the attack, Putin explicitly referred to Russia as “one of the most powerful nuclear powers in the world”.

The Russian president appears to reserve the nuclear option as a response to a “direct attack on his country”. But he warned that those who try to “stop us” in Ukraine could face “results greater than any they have faced in history”. It was feared that Russia might also take precautionary measures. In his broadcast to the Russian people on 21 February, Putin also suggested – falsely – that the Ukrainian leadership was trying to obtain nuclear weapons of its own.