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"Psychological manoeuvre" in the Ukraine war: Putin stirs up fears about nuclear weapons - how far does he go?

2022-03-01T09:42:37.954Z


"Psychological manoeuvre" in the Ukraine war: Putin stirs up fears about nuclear weapons - how far does he go? Created: 03/01/2022 10:31 am By: Wolfgang Hauskrecht Is Russian President Vladimir Putin threatening the West with nuclear war? © Alexei Nikolsky/dpa With the announcement that the Russian nuclear forces would be put on increased alert, President Putin further intensified the Ukraine


"Psychological manoeuvre" in the Ukraine war: Putin stirs up fears about nuclear weapons - how far does he go?

Created: 03/01/2022 10:31 am

By: Wolfgang Hauskrecht

Is Russian President Vladimir Putin threatening the West with nuclear war?

© Alexei Nikolsky/dpa

With the announcement that the Russian nuclear forces would be put on increased alert, President Putin further intensified the Ukraine conflict.

Munich – "I instruct the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff to put the deterrent forces of the Russian army on special combat readiness." On Sunday Vladimir Putin* spoke this sentence live on television, fueling the fear that nuclear weapons could soon be in the war for Ukraine* come into use.

Experts interpret the announcement more as a psychological maneuver - with one important caveat: nobody knows exactly how the psyche of the Russian president is doing.

Ukraine war: Putin with his back to the wall - how far will he go?

Carlo Masala, Professor of International Politics at the Bundeswehr University in Neubiberg, is convinced that the world is not on the verge of a nuclear exchange of blows with Russia.

There are four escalation levels for the strategic armed forces.

At the moment, Russia has reached stage two.

"My interpretation is that Putin wants to prevent the West from continuing to provide this massive political, economic and, above all, military support to the Ukrainian armed forces," he said in the "Daily Issues" on Sunday.

Putin is currently with his back to the wall.

The invasion is not going as well as planned, and there is also domestic political resistance.

The reference to the nuclear forces was an "attempt to turn the tide in his favor".

NATO must "find the right answer in very careful words".

Harald Kujat, former inspector general of the Bundeswehr, also expressed doubts about Russia's willingness to carry out a nuclear strike.

“Putin also knows that a nuclear weapon changes the world in a second.

The one who uses nuclear weapons first dies second,” he told NDR.

In addition: "Strategic nuclear weapons are not put on alert, they are always on alert because they have to react within minutes." According to nuclear weapons experts Hans Kristensen and Matt Korda, Russia currently has almost 1,600 nuclear warheads permanently operational.

Constant threat: nuclear armament in the world © B. Schaller, F. Bökelmann/dpa

Ukraine conflict: nuclear threats against the West - Putin "flexes his muscles"

The British government saw little movement in the Russian nuclear forces on Monday (February 28).

The nuclear weapons positions had been reviewed, "there is no significant change," British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on LBC radio.

Wallace accused Putin of "flexing his muscles" because the invasion stalled.

It is rhetoric of distraction.

"He wants to remind us all that he has a nuclear deterrent." But so are Britain, France and the United States, Wallace said.

David Khalfa from the Jean Jaurès Foundation in Paris spoke of “Russian frustration”.

The Kremlin is threatened with a long guerrilla war.

Reliable predictions are difficult.

President Putin is isolated and “trapped in a paranoid logic.

That's worrying, it's actually impossible to really read his strategy."

Ukraine conflict: face-saving way out for Putin possible?

US military expert James Acton told

Der Spiegel

that he did not believe in the use of nuclear weapons, but that the risk was nevertheless to be taken very seriously.

"We must offer Putin a face-saving opportunity to free himself from this crisis." Germany has a key role to play in this.

The US also has nuclear weapons stationed in Europe.

According to the Federal Agency for Civic Education, there are 150 to 200 B-61-4 and B-61-3 bombs.

The bases are Kleine Brogel (Belgium), Büchel (Germany), Aviano and Ghedi Torre (Italy), Volkel (Netherlands) and Incirlik (Turkey).

The use is regulated in so-called two-key agreements.

Accordingly, the bombs may only be used in coordination between the USA and the respective stationing country.

(Wolfgang Hauskrecht) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-03-01

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