A top ex-military chief has warned that “we have never been closer to the prospect of nuclear weapons” being used since the end of the Cold War.
Speaking to the Daily Star, General Sir Richard Barrons, former commander of the UK Joint Forces Command, discussed the horrifying prospect of nuclear warfare in Ukraine and beyond in the light of Vladimir Putin's forces struggling on the ground.
The nukes used would turn people close to the blast to "crisp" as a terrifying game of brinksmanship continues.
General Sir Richard's career saw him become one of the key chiefs of UK defence, spanning the Cold War and fighting in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan, Libya and Syria, eventually becoming a director at the Ministry of Defence and a three-star general.
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He said that, while the threat of a large-scale nuclear apocalypse remained a long way off, “since the end of the Cold War, we have never been closer to the prospect of nuclear weapons being used".
Regarding Ukraine, he admitted that much of the nuclear threat “depends where you live” and that in reality, the kind of weapons likely to be used would be smaller ‘tactical’ ones rather than larger ‘strategic’ weapons that can attach to intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
“As the war has gone on, it's become clear, mostly due to the terrible Russian performance and a very good Ukraine performance supported by the West [that] the Russian ability to take territory is much reduced."
He said that the world now faced a “conundrum” because “we want Ukraine to, with our help, take its country back.
“And if they are successful, that means Russia is roundly, soundly, completely defeated and chucked out of Ukraine, arguably, including Crimea.”
He added: "When that happens… Russia will be tempted to prevent that battlefield outcome by using small nuclear weapons to stop a Ukrainian attack in its tracks.”
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General Sir Richard said that this would be because: “In Russian military doctrine, if faced with significant defeat that threatens the viability of the state of Russia, then they feel that they can reach for weapons of mass destruction, either nuclear or chemical.
“These weapons are at the level of the battlefield."
Last week, Putin announced the results of a series of election-like events in Eastern Ukraine that he claims saw people vote overwhelmingly in favour of joining Russia.
“So the conundrum is if Ukraine is as successful as we want it to be and pushes Russia out of the bits of Ukraine that Russia has decided are now Russian.”
The general made clear that the likely type of nuclear threat the world faced was from smaller weapons but claims Russia doesn't think using a smaller battlefield nuke is the same as a big one and so suspects it could get away with it.
“Russia will think that in order to prevent battlefield defeat in Ukraine if it used small nuclear weapons, it would not mean that the US will commit global suicide [by using ICBMs],” he said, adding “it's hard to disagree.”
He warned that if Putin decided “this territory is now Russian,” then, “if threatened with being thrown out, [Russia will think] we reserve the right to use all the means at our disposal – which is code for weapons of mass destruction.
“So that you know that this issue is very serious. It's clearly on the table now, and lots of people behind closed doors are doing their level best to see it off.”
He continued: “We have to acknowledge that the use of a small nuclear weapon in Ukraine is devastating in Ukraine. It shatters a taboo and sets a terrible precedent, but its effects are not going to go beyond Ukraine. These are very small nuclear devices.”
He pointed out that, with nuclear weapons in general and regardless of the size, “if you’re close to the bang, you’re crisped”.
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