Should the West take Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threat seriously?

Pro: Dangerous and ignorant

Of Christian Rickens

With impressive self-confidence, Western commentators interpret Vladimir Putin’s escalation triad of mock referendum, partial mobilization and threat of nuclear weapons as the final gasp of a dictator who has basically already been defeated. We all want the war of aggression against Ukraine to end with a clear defeat for Russia. But that shouldn’t lead us to glorify the situation.

Precisely because things are not going well for Russia militarily, the West must take Putin’s threat seriously. With nuclear weapons, Putin could strategically change the situation in Ukraine in his favor. What hopefully prevents him from doing so is the prospect of going down in history as a mass murderer. But: Putin will not win a Nobel Peace Prize in this life anyway.