Putin's nuclear threats lose impact as West ignores red lines

The Kremlin is aware of an "overflow of nuclear threats," reports the Washington Post. However, Putin must somehow react to the West's continuous "crossing of red lines." Moscow should take more serious and significant steps to show the seriousness of its intentions, says a Russian scientist with close ties to high-ranking diplomats.

As reported by the Washington Post, citing Russian sources, the Kremlin is increasingly aware that the repeated threats of Russia using nuclear weapons are losing their effectiveness. There has been an excess of nuclear threats, said a Russian official. He added that resilience to such statements has already been developed, and they do not scare anyone.

A Russian scientist with close ties to high-ranking Russian diplomats confirmed these reports, calling the nuclear option the "least likely" scenario. This is "because it really would lead to dissatisfaction among Russia’s partners in the Global South and also because clearly, from a military point of view, it is not very effective."

All these discussions about the nuclear threshold exaggerate the threat of this type of escalation and underestimate the possibilities of alternative options. Since the West has a global military infrastructure, many vulnerable points can be found, added the scientist.

Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the French consulting firm R-Politik, said that Putin is evaluating a range of options to deter Western support for Ukraine and try to enforce his red lines. She added that there are options he does not want to implement and options he is ready to review today, emphasizing that Putin considers nuclear weapons the "worst option for everyone, including for himself."

The American newspaper writes, "Putin, however, is still under pressure to respond in some way and stop his red lines from being constantly crossed." According to the scientists, there is an understanding that the West ignores Moscow's red lines and that it should take more serious and significant steps to show the seriousness of its intentions.

Much of the information provided by Russian media or government representatives is propaganda. Such reports are part of the Russian Federation's information war.

The chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, said Russia will be ready to use the most powerful and destructive weapon in the case of attacks with Western long-range weapons on the territory of the Russian Federation. Previously, the United States confirmed that talks on this topic are ongoing.

By requesting deliveries of long-range weapons, rockets, and other equipment from the United States, Germany, France, and England and discussing with them the issue of conducting strikes on the territory of Russia, Zelensky makes these countries direct participants in the armed conflict in Ukraine, said Volodin.