Public Sentiment or Manipulation: Expert Explains Whether Russia Is Really Ready to Use Nuclear Weapons

Political expert and Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman Oleksandr Musiienko commented on the statement by Turkey’s Foreign Minister that Russia could use nuclear weapons and assessed the risks, Politeka reports.

He spoke about this in his blog.

According to the expert, Fidan visited Moscow and Kyiv, called for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, and now says that if Russia becomes critically exhausted on the battlefield, it could use nuclear weapons. The Turkish Foreign Minister noted, he continued, that this issue could be raised because the public is demanding something of the sort.

“The public — these are the very same people whom some believe will now march on the Kremlin, that there will be some kind of riots or protests against Putin. Nothing of the sort. All these protests will be crushed by the security services and the Russian National Guard. Russians may take to the streets only in a hunger revolt, when they genuinely have nothing to eat, when they have no salaries at all, when they do not even have money for a bottle of vodka. But as long as all of this still exists, as long as their industry and economy continue to function, albeit with extremely heavy losses due to the hellish sanctions and our strikes, we should not expect society to rise up. It will demand the use of nuclear weapons — this is what Fidan is saying, having studied the sentiments of Russians,” explains Oleksandr Musiienko.

The expert speculates that Fidan may be using this argument as a means of pressure to make Ukraine more willing to compromise during peace negotiations; this possibility cannot be ruled out. But the key point, he emphasizes, is that the reaction of Russian society indicates the need to inflict even more devastating strikes.

“Russian elites, realizing that this would lead to their complete collapse, may stop Putin at the final moment, remove him from power — or even physically eliminate him — and seize power themselves. The hope here lies with the highest circles of oligarchs around Putin, who may secure the support of the FSB. That is why Putin is currently courting FSB officers, giving them money and continuing to hand out privileges, because he understands that they are his support base. It is very important to weaken Putin’s elites. Change in Russia is possible only from above or from the side. As for the population experiencing some inconveniences… They will grumble for a while,” concludes Oleksandr Musiienko.