# Russian Use of Nuclear Weapons and Response rgd Ukraine **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2022, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-use-of-nuclear-weapons-and-response-rgd-ukraine/972339 "2022-09-27T20:40:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 150
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-use-of-nuclear-weapons-and-response-rgd-ukraine/972339/150 "2022-10-08T15:42:18Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > But any other country that has no current treaties obligating other nations to come to their defense, well…you get invaded and you don’t have actual declared allies, that’s unfortunate but not our problem, and my opinion is that remaining entirely neutral is the proper course of action. There would thus be no threat of escalation as long as an actual ally isn’t attacked. For that sort of speculation, the following thread is probably a better fit - > [@What are the likely outcomes/scenarios in the Ukraine war that the US is working towards?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-likely-outcomes-scenarios-in-the-ukraine-war-that-the-us-is-working-towards/972818/41): > > Entirely guessing here, but I suspect the US is working towards a traditional compromise settlement that makes no one happy and sets the stage for another conflict down the road. Probably with the Ukraine recovering to the post 2014 border, but leaving Crimea unrecovered, possibly with the suggestion of a UN governed referendum (which will be indefinitely put off) to determine it’s final status as a territory. The Ukraine will be unhappy, but dependent to a large degree on Western support for … 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. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-use-of-nuclear-weapons-and-response-rgd-ukraine/972339)._