Military analyst and former US Army Europe Commander Ben Hodges said Russia has no benefit from using nuclear weapons.
This was reported by URA-Inform with reference to Hromadske.
He noted that the only thing the Kremlin wants is to convince everyone that the Russians can do this. They see how this threat scares people. At the same time, Hodges expressed the conviction that Putin does not plan to launch nuclear strikes.
“The strike with the new missile shows how much the Kremlin is afraid of Ukraine using Storm Shadow/SCALP and ATACMS missiles. Putin's nervous reaction demonstrates the effectiveness of Ukrainian strikes on ammunition depots and other military targets on Russian territory. It seems to me that the Russians are worried now, they don't like this situation,” he noted.
The former commander of the US Army in Europe explained that the situation is significantly influenced by China, which wants to receive cheap oil and gas from Russia.
“And I think Beijing understands one thing very well: if Moscow uses nuclear weapons, the United States will make sure that Russia will not be able to sell oil and gas. I don't think China or India wants that to happen,” the military analyst noted.
He emphasized that the only reason Russia can continue this war is the money Moscow gets from selling oil and gas to China and India. This is the real Achilles heel of the Russians.
“That's why I think it's unlikely that Russia will use nuclear weapons. And the new US presidential administration will also have to make it very clear to Moscow that nuclear strikes on Ukraine would be catastrophic for Russia. That needs to be done,” — summed up Ben Hodges.
Meanwhile, the Russian Federation has spoken out about ending the war in Ukraine: Lavrov named a number of conditions.
