Putin’s ‘martyr complex’ is so out of control there is a real risk he will make ‘the most fateful decision of the century’ and unleash nuclear weapons, think-tank warns
- New report has highlighted growing risk of Putin turning to nuclear weapons
- It also outlines how the Kremlin has worked itself ‘into a state of near hysteria’
By JAMIE PHILLIPS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 18:20 EDT, 15 March 2023 | UPDATED: 22:06 EDT, 15 March 2023
Vladimir Putin’s ‘martyr complex’ is so out of control there is a risk he will embolden Russia to use nuclear and chemical weapons, a think tank has warned – amid rising concerns over the Kremlin’s ‘hysteric rhetoric’.
A new report published by the US think tank Heritage Foundation has highlighted a growing risk the Russian president will ‘make one of the most fateful decisions of the century’ in the face of his faltering invasion of Ukraine.
It also outlines how the Kremlin has worked itself ‘into a state of near hysteria’ about the ‘ridiculous’ assessment that NATO poses a military threat to the country.
Since Putin invaded Ukraine, his propagandists have continued to threaten the UK with a nuclear holocaust – and the rhetoric has continued to escalate in recent months.
The study, named The US and Its Allies Must Understand and Respond to Russia’s Nuclear Threats, explores the actual likelihood that Putin will turn to using weapons of mass destruction.
A new report published by the US think tank Heritage Foundation has highlighted a growing risk the Russian president will ‘make one of the most fateful decisions of the century’
Since Putin invaded Ukraine, his propagandists have continued to threaten the UK with a nuclear holocaust
Russia will use missile to wipe out Britain, Putin propagandists claim
Russian generals are understood to have discussed the use of tactical nuclear weapons in November, but is said to be cautious about the use of long-range weapons.
However, Russia has ‘increasingly portrayed the West as an enemy and appears to now accept tactical strategic nuclear weapons as an option for deterring further escalation of combat.
The country is understood to have between 1,000 and 2,000 nuclear weapons of varying sizes.
The use of such weapons is seen by Western nations as a last resort, but the report states Russia may turn to tactical nuclear weapons ‘early in the exercise or at mid-point’.
The report outlines four situations in which Putin would turn to nuclear weapons; pre-empting an attack on Russia; use against Russia; a threat, such as a cyberattack on Russia’s command-and-control systems; and an existential threat to Russia from conventional or nuclear weapons.
Nuclear weapons provide a ‘comfort blanket’ for the Kremlin, but is more likely to employ nukes than the West, it says.
In the face of its stagnant invasion, Russia has turned its focus to shelling Ukraine’s electricity and water supplies.
But Putin is said to have a ‘higher tolerance threshold’ for both civilian and military casualties than Western nations amid reports of Russian mercenaries engaging in suicidal assaults in the battle for Bakhmut.
It comes as Moscow has launched a massive winter offensive involving hundreds of thousands of freshly called-up reservists and convicts recruited from jail as mercenaries, who have been forming human wave attacks in an attempt to overwhelm the town’s defenders.
Small groups of soldiers push forward against the Ukrainian positions, many of whom are mown down by machine guns as they approach. Those killed are simply replaced by others also deemed expendable.
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