Where he feels flexibility, he pushes on. For example, by moving NATO soldiers to the eastern borders.’ ‘By that I mean: increasing preparedness. “You have to make it clear to Putin: there is a willingness to escalate if you do too,” said Dick Berlin, former Commander of the Armed Forces. Soldiers and scientists have different views on this, according to a survey among experts. How should NATO respond to Putin’s statements? That is, even from Putin’s point of view, implausible.’ģ. They then take the risk of destroying the whole world because of Ukraine. So I cannot imagine that the military top would agree to the use of nuclear weapons. Putin has now launched the offensive himself. But only if Russia itself falls victim to a large-scale attack, which threatens to lose them. The Russian military doctrine does not exclude the use of nuclear weapons, Klep knows. Whoever uses nuclear weapons puts his head in the noose.’ The principle of mutually assured destruction† There is no cascading escalation. That’s the only thing that works from a security perspective. Immediately and massively there will be retail, retaliation applied. That is very simple, says De Kruif, ‘if the Russians use nuclear weapons on, for example, Kiev, it will be seen by NATO as an unprecedented act of aggression. What happens if the Russians decide to use nuclear weapons? This mainly concerns Sergei Shoygu (defense minister) and Valeri Gerasimov (chief of staff of the Russian armed forces and boss of the Russian military intelligence service GRU).’Ģ. Putin needs permission from the military top.

Nor is it the case that he makes decisions all by himself.’ But, says Mart de Kruif, former commander of the Dutch Army, ‘Putin doesn’t have a nuclear button under his armpit that he can press after a bad night. Can Putin simply and single-handedly decide to use nuclear weapons?Īfter the invasion of Ukraine, it is clear that one individual, Russian President Vladimir Putin, can profoundly influence the course of history. Test of the RS-24 Yars nuclear missile on Kamchatka.

Putin red button