Russia is unlikely to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine unless NATO puts its boots on the ground, they said Al Jazeera two retired Russian generals.

Russia can achieve its goals without nuclear weapons

“If the West attacks Russia with its conventional armed forces, then Russia’s response may well be nuclear, because there is no comparison between the conventional military capabilities of the West and Russia,” said Yevgeny Buzhynskyi, a retired lieutenant general who served from 2001 to 2009. chief representative of the Russian army on arms control issues.

At the same time, Buzhynskyi emphasized that under the current conditions, Russia would gain little from the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

He argued that the Russian military does not need nuclear weapons to achieve its strategic goals, such as destroying the transportation infrastructure used to deliver Western arms supplies or damaging the country’s energy system.

“There can be no limited use” / Mutual destruction

At the same time, Buzhinsky warned that a nuclear strike would almost certainly lead Moscow and Washington into a dangerous spiral of escalation.

“There can be no limited use of nuclear weapons – to think otherwise is an illusion,” he said. “Any nuclear conflict between Russia and the United States will lead to complete mutual destruction.”

Leonid Reshetnikov, a retired lieutenant general who worked for more than 40 years in Soviet and Russian foreign intelligence, made a similar assessment.

Intercontinental ballistic missile on parade on Red Square in Moscow Yury Kadobnov / AFP / Profimedia Images

Reshetnikov, director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (2009-2017), told Al Jazeera that the prospect of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine is currently “impossible and would make no sense from a military point of view”.

He argued that such a move would be a sharp departure from the risk-averse strategy Russia has so far pursued in Ukraine, noting that the Kremlin waited nearly seven months before announcing a partial mobilization.

“The Cold War was nonsense compared to today’s situation”

However, the direct involvement of NATO forces in the conflict may change Moscow’s calculations.

“The United States and almost all of Europe are already participating in this conflict, providing Ukraine with weapons, intelligence, instructors and volunteers,” Reshetnikov said.

“If it continues to escalate, it creates the risk of a global war in which nuclear weapons could be used.”

For some, the current standoff is reminiscent of the Cold War, a time of incredibly high global tensions when the Soviet Union and Washington competed in an arms race for nuclear supremacy.

According to Reshetnikov, “the Cold War was nonsense compared to today’s situation.”

“Now we see that both sides are trying to put pressure on each other, gradually moving towards the possibility of a direct confrontation. I don’t think we will see a nuclear war today or tomorrow, but it is difficult to say how the escalation will develop during the year,” says the Russian general .

Sergey Markov Photo: Mykhailo Metzel / TASS / Profimedia Images

Former President Dmitry Medvedev and former Putin adviser Sergei Markov are talking about using nuclear weapons

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who recently accused the West of “playing chess with death” over its support for Ukraine, warned on Thursday that any weapon in Moscow’s arsenal, including strategic nuclear weapons, could be used to defend “territories in Ukraine, which will be annexed to Russia,” Reuters and The Guardian reported.

“Of course, hypersonic missiles will be able to reach their targets in Europe and the USA much faster,” Medvedev threatened.

In an address to the nation, Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilization and threatened the West that he would not hesitate to respond to the “nuclear blackmail” practiced by the leaders of the major NATO powers.

Sergei Markov, a former close adviser to Vladimir Putin, warned London of the nuclear threat live on BBC Radio 4. Markov also claimed that nuclear war would result from the “crazy behavior of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the Prime Ministers of Great Britain, Boris Johnson and Liz Track,” reports AFP.

Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev Photo: Mykhailo Metzel / TASS / Profimedia Images

The top American general does not rule out the use of nuclear weapons

The former commander of US forces in Europe, General Ben Hodges, says that the latest decisions of Russian President Vladimir Putin are reminiscent of the behavior of Adolf Hitler in the last days of the Third Reich, when he tried to attract more soldiers to the Wehrmacht, Ukrainian Pravda reports.

As for nuclear weapons, General Hodges does not rule out their use.

“But nuclear weapons are most effective when they are not used. Given their deterrent potential,” he said.

“Yes, Putin is cold as ice, but not crazy: he knows very well that then the United States will have to be fully involved in this war. The Pentagon has already given President Joe Biden a list of options for such a case,” Hodges said, noting that there are several Russian generals who would like to have a post-Putin future.

The head of NATO: Russia knows that the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine will lead to “serious consequences”.

Russia knows that using nuclear weapons in Ukraine would have “serious consequences,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN on Friday.

“They know it will have serious consequences. I won’t go into the details of exactly how we will respond, it depends on what weapons of mass destruction they can use,” Stoltenberg said.

“We send these messages and say it clearly so that this does not happen,” Jens Stoltenberg emphasized.

“The fact is,” he continued, “that the probability of any use of nuclear weapons is still low, but the potential consequences are so great that we have to take it seriously. And the rhetoric, the threats that President Putin puts forward again and again, increase tensions, are dangerous and reckless.”

Sources: Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Ukrainian Truth, CNN

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