In addition, it will be difficult for the West to blame the Russian Federation for a chemical attack if it happens.
that the risk of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin using nuclear weapons is low, which is not the case for the probability of using chemical weapons. In his column for Bloomberg, he provided three arguments to support his thesis.
Argument #1
The expert notes that one may get the impression that the Russian dictator Putin does not care about international opinion. However, the use of nuclear weapons will have enormous consequences throughout the world.
“He understands that economically and diplomatically he has to keep China on his side, as well as maintain economic leverage over countries in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia.” , – noted Stavridis.
Argument #2
The use of nuclear weapons will make escalation control very difficult, the admiral notes. He explains that Putin “loves his life and loves his country”, so it is unlikely that he would want to risk all this in order to take over Ukraine. and the probability of a miscalculation leading to a global exchange of blows increases,” Stavridis noted.
Argument #3
Putin could use tactical nuclear weapons against a specific target in Kyiv, Odesa, or Lviv. However, according to the expert, the dictator still believes in his ability to capture these cities, so he will use other resources, focusing his offensive power on a specific target.
But Stavridis warns that there is still a risk of the Russian Federation using chemical weapons. And in general, he called the concern about Russia's use of weapons of mass destruction justified.
“It will be more difficult for the West to finally attribute the use of chemical weapons to Putin – its origin is more ambiguous, and he has already laid the foundation of disinformation in the form of “American-Ukrainian chemical and biological programs”, – writes Stavridis.
Read also: EU will hand over to Ukraine protection against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats
At the end of June, Bloomberg wrote that Europe needs its own nuclear weapons, to deter Russia. It explained that fear of Kremlin aggression and lingering doubts about US resolve reinforce old ideas about a European nuclear bomb.
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