With the deployment of
tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus, Russian President
Vladimir Putin wants to deter the West and distract it from Moscow's mistakes, according to one analyst.
"They [the
nuclear weapons] are meant to intimidate the West into not continuing its arms deliveries for Ukrainian offensives in 2023," German political scientist
Maximilian Terhalle told dpa.
"First and foremost, however, the announcement is meant to distract from the fact that
Putin is not making the progress, for example in
Bakhmut, that he urgently needs."
The
geopolitics expert, who has taught at
King's College in London, warned the West not to cut support for Ukraine for fear of a nuclear strike.
"The pattern of a
tactical nuclear threat in the face of conventional non-success is already familiar from last October," Terhalle said.
"It is a good indication that the Russian army and Wagner forces are not able to break the Ukrainians." The town of
Bakhmut in eastern
Ukraine has been heavily contested for months and is now practically destroyed.
The
political scientist stressed: "As in 2022, Putin will not use
nuclear weapons in 2023 because that would make him lose his most important weapon, intimidation, which has significantly influenced
NATO in the case of Germany and the tank issue."
At the same time, by stationing them in
Belarus, Putin is inadvertently fuelling a debate about the need for stronger
nuclear capabilities in Europe, he said.
