Russian Use of Nuclear Weapons and Response rgd Ukraine

For that sort of speculation, the following thread is probably a better fit -

In which I postulated a please-no-one-settlement in which Russia returns to pre-2022 borders and eventually the Crimea goes through a UN managed referendum on it’s future after several years. Something that all parties would be unhappy with but MIGHT be willing to accept.

The problem with it, and the focus of this thread is that Putin seems to have tied himself too tightly to this War (whatever HE chooses to call it) to allow any major territory losses, especially after the new annexations. And since he can’t (at this rate) keep it with conventional military force, nuclear options may be his only opportunity.

The other problem with your argument is that it also points back to this thread - all nations will have to accept that the only way to avoid losing loss of territory is to have A) their own nukes or B) be in an alliance of nations that implicitly or explicitly threaten the use of nukes in the event of conflict.

Which brings us right back to the increased probability of an ever escalating nuclear race and use of nukes in border disputes.