A direct clash between Russia and NATO would put the world “one step away from a full-scale World War III,” Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters this week as he celebrated a preordained victory in the country’s presidential election and underscored his uncompromising Ukraine strategy.
The threat of nuclear escalation has been ever-present as the West continues to bolster Ukraine and frustrate the Kremlin’s military campaign. For Moscow, the nuclear card has been useful in deterring deeper NATO involvement in the conflict.
“Everything is possible in the modern world,” Putin warned this week.
There is no indication that a nuclear confrontation between NATO and Russia is imminent.
U.S. officials have repeatedly said they see no signs of Russia preparing to use nuclear weapons, regardless of the bellicose rhetoric employed by Putin and his Kremlin allies or the decision to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
A nuclear exchange would be disastrous for all involved. The Federation of American Scientists estimates that Russia has around 5,580 nuclear weapons, compared with the U.S.’s 5,428. Both are thought to have around 1,600 active deployed strategic nuclear warheads.
