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Experts: Putin uses nuclear threats to influence Biden

Experts: Putin uses nuclear threats to influence Biden Photo: US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin(Getty Images)
Author: Daryna Vialko

Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to influence American President Joe Biden. Currently, he is attempting to employ a psychological attack in the form of nuclear intimidation, according to the comments from regional security expert Oleksii Izhak from the National Institute for Strategic Studies and political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko.

According to Fesenko, Putin's nuclear statement came just before the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the US President at the White House, where the main topic of discussion will be the lifting of restrictions on Western long-range weapons.

"Judging by Putin’s statement, Russia clearly fears this. That’s why they issued several warnings, even using 'heavy artillery'—a direct statement from Putin. This is a direct threat to the US, essentially saying that if you allow Ukraine to strike, it would be like declaring nuclear war. It’s a psychological attack on Biden ahead of his meeting with Zelenskyy," Fesenko told RBC-Ukraine's YouTube channel.

However, the effectiveness of Russian nuclear blackmail has long been in question. Putin has threatened the West with nuclear weapons so often that there is now a kind of immunity to it, as recently noted by The Washington Post.

Each time the West raised the stakes in its support for Ukraine (first with artillery, then tanks, and now with F-16s), the Kremlin would draw new "red lines." And each time, these "red lines" were crossed without any consequences or Kremlin response.

Currently, the chances that Putin's new nuclear threats will somehow influence the West's decisions regarding Ukrainian strikes on Russia are very low, according to Izhak.

“Let’s say, out of all the factors considered, it’s 1%. This is not even a change in doctrine, it’s simply an attempt by Russia to expand the legitimate framework for using nuclear weapons. But first, Putin needs to receive approval at least from China. The West has already made its decision. If they see that Putin is just trying to scare them, it will not affect their decision, although we still do not know what that decision will be,” he explained.

For more information about Putin's nuclear threats and their goals, see the material by RBC-Ukraine.

It should be noted that Ukraine also responded to Putin's nuclear threats yesterday.