Russia: Putin 'considering the nuclear option' says Yatsenyuk
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Vladimir Putin will be tempted to use tactical nuclear weapons rather than back down in Ukraine, according to Kremlin insiders. The Russian leader has suffered a succession of humiliations on the battlefield, that threaten to seriously undermine his authority. His army was routed on the Kharkiv front and continues to lose ground in the east and south.
Ukrainian troops are reported to be closing in on Kherson, with some experts predicting the port city could fall before winter sets in.
Putin’s military woes have added to speculation that the Russian leader will resort to extreme measures to ensure his army triumphs in Ukraine.
Many analysts believe that a military defeat would pose an existential threat to the Russian President and his regime and that Putin will do anything to avoid such an outcome.
The Kremlin despot has introduced “partial mobilisation” in an attempt to turn around his military fortunes.
However, Kremlin insiders believe this is just the first step down a path that may well lead to nuclear confrontation.
Farida Rustamova, a Russian investigative journalist, recently conducted a series of interviews with Russian elites for her Fairdaily blog.
Commenting on the recent mobilisation orders, one Kremlin insider told her: “The 300,000 [reservists) are just a distraction.
“Now it’s partial, but then there will be mass mobilisation, and after that tactical nuclear weapons.”
Another member of the elite who has worked closely with Putin, predicted the Russian leader would continue to ratchet up the nuclear rhetoric.
He said: “Putin always chooses escalation.
“And he will continue to choose escalation at any unpleasant juncture, up to and including nuclear weapons.”
The Russian president has persistently threatened to deploy his nuclear arsenal to ensure he achieves his war goals in Ukraine.
During the ceremony to officially annex four more Ukrainian provinces, Putin once again raised the spectre of atomic war.
He told his audience that he would use all “forces and means at our disposal” to protect Russian territory and sovereignty.
Military experts believe that the Russian president could be tempted to use tactical nuclear weapons, which are smaller and less destructive than strategic ones.
However, the US President warned that even tactical nuclear weapons would lead to “Armageddon”.
Joe Biden told a Democratic fundraiser last week: “First time since the Cuban missile crisis, we have a direct threat of the use of a nuclear weapon if in fact things continue down the path they are going.
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“I don’t think there’s any such thing as the ability to easily use a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.”
It comes as Putin made further changes to his military command in an attempt to regain the initiative on the battlefield.
General Sergey Surovikin was appointed as first overall commander for the war in Ukraine on Saturday.
Surovikin is a veteran officer who led the Russian military expedition in Syria in 2017.
His appointment is the first of an overall battlefield commander for Russian troops in Ukraine.
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