, Columnist
Putin Won't Use a Nuke. Chemical Weapons, Maybe.
The Russian leader fears escalation he can’t control, and has other options to terrify Ukraine and intimidate the West.
What’s he thinking?
Photographer: Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
As a former military commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, I do a lot of speaking in the US and internationally about the war in Ukraine. The question I get asked most frequently is terrifying and simple: “Would Vladimir Putin use a nuke?”
Fortunately, I think the odds of the Russian president doing so are extremely low. But as this terrible conflict grinds on, it is worth examining the question: What is stopping Putin from nuclear aggression?