Illia Ponomarenko and Rob Lee: How likely is a nuclear attack on Ukraine?
Dear community members,
Thank you to everyone who was able to join our conversation with our defense reporter Illia Ponomarenko and defense policy expert Rob Lee about the likelihood of a nuclear attack in Ukraine. Also, thank you to everyone who sent in questions – they are always central to our discussions.
Illia and Rob discussed the current state of the war, the likelihood of Russia using nuclear weapons against Ukraine, the popular support in Russia and the chain of command around Putin, and how the war might end without the use of nuclear weapons.
We hope that this was interesting for you – and here is the recording for those not able to make it and for those who want to return to this conversation. We are also publishing this recording publicly to YouTube, in case you want to share it with someone who isn’t a member.
Comments (4)
As I understand it, at least 2 other senior guys have to agree before Putin can order a nuclear strike. Even then the nuke has to be taken out of storage, transported to launch position and loaded onto a launch system. I guess many people are involved in actually firing it. Any of them might say no if it is an unprovoked first strike. Maybe that is why Putin is thinking of a dirty bomb which can be blamed on Ukraine and also provoke a NATO reaction.
Thank you for the excellent analysis. I can see now that using nukes would be a terrible decision for Putin and he couldn't win anything by it. Stay safe. Slava Ukraini!
it was the first one I could attend. I will definately be back for more, because the analysis was very down to earth
Crazy enough getting invaded, but giving analysis regards your country getting hit with a nuclear attack.