On Wednesday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened the use of nuclear weapons. He then pointed out that he is not bluffing. Norwegian Defense Research Institute (FFI) researcher Sverre Diesen believes this indicates that Putin is becoming increasingly desperate.
– It is probably still something he is doing mainly to create a lot of fear and disagreement in the West if we stop supporting the Ukrainians. But at the same time, this speech tells us that Putin is increasingly desperate and sees no other way out of the corner he painted himself in than winning the war at any cost, Diesen tells Dagbladet.
He is also a retired general and served as Norwegian Chief of Defense from 2005 to 2009.
Otherwise, he fears both for the survival of the regime and for his own legacy. The West should therefore make sure that it eliminates all doubts that the use of a nuclear weapon will be subject to retaliation. Anything else will be very dangerous; if he doesn’t understand, he will be tempted to try.
On Wednesday, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg described Putin’s rhetoric as dangerous and reckless. He also stressed the importance of ensuring that there is no room in Moscow for misunderstanding about the use of nuclear weapons.
RESEARCHER: Sverre Diesen at FFI. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB
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Television speech
On Wednesday morning, Putin announced in a televised speech that Russia will carry out a partial mobilization. Subsequently, Defense Minister Sergej Shoigu said he will send 300,000 reserve troops to war in Ukraine.
– It is a form of recognition that Russia has failed with the so-called special operation, and must now go to the mobilization of the country’s human resources to replace the losses and regain the initiative, says Diesen and continues:
– But since he cannot admit that the Ukrainians have inflicted a humiliating defeat on the Russian war machine, he must justify the mobilization by saying that it is actually the West with which Russia is at war.
