With the annexation of the occupied Ukrainian territories, the Kremlin's nuclear threats enter a new phase.

According to the perverse logic of the Russian leadership, in the future any offensive by the Ukrainians will be considered an attack on Russian territory, and therefore a possible occasion for the use of nuclear weapons.

This is what Martin Kuper wrote in his analysis for the T-Online portal.

All about the topic:

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"Escalation to de-escalate"

The author clarifies that in this case we are talking about strikes with a tactical nuclear weapon, which has much less power than the strategic one.

Strategic nuclear warheads have a yield between 100 kilotons and several megatons of TNT equivalent.

Just for comparison: the American bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945 was 15 kilotons.

Today, strategic nuclear weapons serve mainly as a deterrent, while tactical ones - in the cynical view of many militaries - can even be used for limited combat without leading to nuclear escalation.

This view is probably held by Vladimir Putin, following the Russian doctrine of "escalation for the purpose of de-escalation". 

Russia has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world

Martin Kuper recalls that Russia has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world.

NATO has largely eliminated its tactical nuclear weapons, while Russia has kept them.

Observers from the American "Bulletin of Nuclear Scientists" believe that this arsenal amounts to about 1,912 warheads, which are mostly in the hands of the Navy and Air Force.

Kremlin "will not participate in the West's nuclear rhetoric exercises"

Here are the weapons, according to the post:

Multi-purpose nuclear submarines project 885 "Yasen".

These relatively new submarines, first introduced in 2015, can be armed with Kalibr cruise missiles, with which they can fire at land targets at a distance of up to 2,500 kilometers.

Tupolev Tu-22M, Sukhoi Su-24 and MiG-31K medium-range bombers

that can launch cruise missiles.

This category also includes the Kinzhal hypersonic missile, which Russia claims has already been used several times in the war in Ukraine, albeit only with a conventional charge.

The self-propelled artillery installation "2S7M Malka"

, which can launch nuclear projectiles at a distance of up to 55 kilometers.

Former CIA director with a surprising answer on what the US will do if Russia uses nuclear weapons

Iskander-M medium-range missile system.

The mobile missile launcher can launch missiles at a distance of up to 500 kilometers, and cruise missiles even up to 1,500 kilometers.

The Iskander missiles, located in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, can reach targets in Berlin, Warsaw and Copenhagen.

Russian invasion of Ukraine