Correspondent Geert Groot Koerkamp: ‘Putin tries to sow doubt’
“Russia sees with regret that the West is sending increasingly heavier weapons to Ukraine. As a result, the strategic balance on the battlefield can and will at some point change. In the meantime, there are all kinds of signs that the military operation in Ukraine is not proceeding as Putin would like. Although he says the invasion is going according to plan.
The Russian president is probably trying to sow doubt among Western countries. Putin said yesterday that countries that intervene in the fight with Ukraine can count on a “lightning-fast reaction” and “unprecedented consequences”. That is an allusion to the possible use of nuclear weapons, although Putin did not say it in so many words.
He has previously referred to the hypersonic rockets, which other countries, according to Russia, do not yet have. Last week we saw the country make a test launch with a new nuclear weapon. All this sends a clear signal: if the West continues with this, there are major risks involved.”
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