Forbes: What if Putin nukes Ukraine?

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions into the Russian Federation and pledged to defend Russian territories by any means, including nuclear weapons.

Putin’s speech triggered strong reactions from the international community, which is again worried about the scenario of starting a nuclear war.

Although it is difficult to predict the course of a Russian nuclear strike, Moscow will likely in such a case resort to the use of strategic nuclear weaponsas experts told Forbes.

It’s about short-range devices designed for combat use to be used against soldiers or to destroy intelligence centers.

These weapons are much smaller than long-range nuclear warheads designed to destroy entire cities.

However, the power of the largest strategic nuclear weapons reaches up to 100 kilotons (1 kiloton equals 1,000 tons of TNT), while in comparison the bomb that hit Hiroshima was 15 kilotons. Therefore, such a strike could be devastating.

As stated in Forbes by Dr. Rod Thornton, a security expert at King’s College London, said Putin would likely not target any Ukrainian city in the first place, while generally avoiding loss of life. A nuclear strike could be used as a “warning” by Russia to show that the threats are serious and that it is willing to stand up for its territories.

The outcome of a nuclear strike depends largely on the type of weapon used, as well as the manner, location and surrounding conditions. However, even a short-range weapon can have devastating consequences, as the radiation can cause chronic health problems in humans, as well as environmental impact as far away as Asia and the rest of Europe.

“On many fronts, Putin is under pressure”, Thorton told Forbes. “The more desperate he becomes…the more likely the use of a nuclear weapon becomes“, he added.