Asking
Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

Is he bluffing ?

This morning Putin made the implicit threat that he was prepared to use nuclear weapons in his losing war in Ukraine.

In January the People’s Republic of China, the French Republic, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America issued a joint statement ;

"We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. As nuclear use would have far-reaching consequences, we also affirm that nuclear weapons—for as long as they continue to exist—should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war. "

So which is it ; An empty threat from a desperate and deluded leader , or a serious warning that he'd be prepared to risk mutually assured destruction rather than lose the war and most likely his Presidency ?
This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
Abstraction · 61-69, M
Bluff - trying to scare the west into backing down.
But he is a dangerous man. Whatever he tells himself, it's his own immortality he is working towards and the audience that matters to him is the Russian people. The loss of face on so many levels right now and fear of an ignoble end such as being overthrown, being marked a failure make it fraught.