‘Putin has nowhere else to go… We should expect nuclear weapons’: senior British military commander warns Russian leader could lash out if faced with humiliation over Ukraine defeat
- Retired Major General Jonathan Shaw said Putin can’t do much else in the war
- Comes as the Ukrainian advance continued yesterday and the Russians struggled
- Dozens of towns and villages were liberated by Ukrainians within hours
- Kremlin troops withdrew about ten miles, according to pro-Russian military personnel
The UK can expect Vladimir Putin to use nuclear weapons while facing inevitable defeat in Ukraine, a senior British military commander has suggested.
Retired Major General Jonathan Shaw said the Russian president can do little else given the failure of his conventional forces.
His shock warning came as Ukraine’s advance continued yesterday, particularly near the southern city of Kherson, where RussiaAccording to sources on both sides of the conflict, the front line has collapsed.
Dozens of towns and villages were liberated within hours of the withdrawal of Russian troops, who were reportedly cut off from their supply lines.
According to pro-Russian military bloggers, Kremlin forces withdrew about ten miles.
Yesterday, the Royal Netherlands Navy confirmed that a frigate has been sent to the North Sea to protect gas pipelines.
Retired Major General Jonathan Shaw, pictured in 2007, said the Russian president can’t do much else given the failure of his conventional forces.
NATO is also said to have warned its members that Russia could soon test a nuclear warhead.
Sightings of a ‘nuclear train’ near Moscow have raised concerns. It would belong to the secret 12th Chief Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry, which is responsible for nuclear weapons.
Releasing images of the train may be a Kremlin propaganda stunt.
Armored vehicles, including one with a gun, were seen aboard the train heading north from the Russian capital. Their destination remained unclear last night.
It is one of many developments that indicate that the Kremlin is preparing to escalate the conflict.
The Russian president has threatened to use “all available means” to protect the areas of eastern Ukraine occupied by Russian troops and annexed by the Kremlin.
Putin is preparing to move his family to a nuclear-safe bunker, according to the General SVR TV channel, an anti-Kremlin Russian outlet. Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers drive armored vehicles on a road near Yatskivka
There are also fears that Russia will launch the Poseidon, a nuclear torpedo drone, from a submarine. Tests are expected to be conducted in the Kara Sea, between Siberia and the Arctic.
As Assistant Chief of the British Defense Staff, Major General Shaw was responsible for maintaining the military component of Britain’s nuclear deterrent. He said: ‘Putin has nowhere else to go. So we should expect nuclear weapons.
“He’s changing the rules of the nuclear age. The grim defensive logic of MAD [mutually assured destruction – the nuclear weapons deterrence theory] should be replaced by abusive blackmail: give in or get nuked. The implications are profound.
“I just hope the Chinese pull the rug out from under him, because they too would suffer from nuclear war in Eurasia. For Putin there is only one way out of his predicament and that is nuclear.’
The Russian president has threatened to use “all available means” to protect the areas of eastern Ukraine occupied by Russian troops and annexed by the Kremlin.
Putin is preparing to move his family to a nuclear-safe bunker, according to the General SVR TV channel, an anti-Kremlin Russian outlet. He has several bunkers in Siberia and in the Altai Mountains, close to China and will make “key decisions” from there.