American Reports of Putin’s Potential Use of Nuclear Weapons Converging with an Earlier Assessment by Dr. Youssef
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty or independence is threatened.[i] US intelligence community had stated that “Putin’s war on Ukraine could increase the risk of him using nuclear weapons,”[ii] in a new confirmation of what the head of the International Center for Geopolitical and Economic Research, Dr. Muhammad Walid Youssef, warned of in a recent study titled “The Great Strategic Failure: A Nuclear Offensive as Russia’s Last Resort,” where he warned of Russia’s inescapable need to use nuclear weapons for a decisive victory in Ukraine.
US intelligence community noted in its unclassified annual threat assessment released on February 25t, 2024, that “Russia’s inability to achieve quick and decisive battlefield wins, coupled with Ukrainian strikes within Russia, continues to drive concerns that Putin might use nuclear weapons.” The report also stated that “Moscow views its nuclear capabilities as necessary for maintaining deterrence and achieving its goals in a potential conflict against the United States and NATO, and it sees this as the ultimate guarantor of the Russian Federation.” (p. 16)
Dr. Youssef mentioned in his that “The proliferation of chaos […] will be instigated by a conventional military defeat suffered by the Russian army in Ukraine. This will force President Putin to resort to the use of nuclear weapons in response to the defeat. Having foreseen this possibility, Russia withdrew its ratification of The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in November 2023, paving the way for an imminent nuclear test that could be employed in Ukraine to reverse the outcome of the war.”
Dr. Youssef added: “Russia once asserted its position as the world’s second military power and boasted of possessing the strongest armored forces and the largest ground army in the world. Ironically, today, the culmination of its aspirations and primary objective is to thwart the Ukrainian counteroffensive. It is now proud of its defensive capabilities and of having built a defensive line in eastern Ukraine, often referred to as the “Dragon’s Teeth.” This fortified line comprises trenches, minefields, and tunnels extending for tens of kilometers, guarded by artillery and aircraft. However, Russia’s military endeavors are limited to defensive maneuvers, framed as a battle against the United States and NATO rather than Ukraine to attempt to conceal its evident strategic failure.”
[i] https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/russia-ready-nuclear-weapons-threatened-putin-tells-state-108072464
[ii] https://www.odni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/ATA-2024-Unclassified-Report.pdf