Russian commander admits 'we don't have the resources' to win war and nuclear is 'only option'

Alexander Khodakovsky, a Russian military operative in Ukraine, says conventional methods will not be enough so the use of nuclear weapons is the only way left to win the war.

Russian conventional methods of warfare are not enough

Vladimir Putin launched the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine back in February and was hoping for a quick win against its eastern neighbour, Newsweek reports.

Ten months into the conflict, Ukrainian defences are seeming to only get stronger. Ukraine is taking its territory back inch-by-inch from the Russian invaders.

Khodakovsky is a commander in the Russian militia of the Donetsk region in Ukraine. Hewas a guest on Russian state TV where he joined via an online call while still wearing his military uniform and shared a grave situational report and an ominous threat:

Everyone realizes that the next spiral of escalation can only be the nuclear stage of war.

Confrontation with NATO

Throughout the war in Ukraine, the world has witnessed an escalation of ‘nuclear rhetorics’ between Russia and the West, by trading threats about the use and an attack with nuclear attacks.

According to Newsweek, Khodakovsky believes that Ukraine and NATO are joint enemies, and his perception of defeating the Western alliance and winning the war could be achieved only with the use of nuclear weapons:

We don't have the ability—we're a country which is now fighting the entire Western world, and we don't have the resources to defeat the NATO bloc with conventional means. But we have nuclear weapons for that. We built them specially for such situations. That is why there is only one option.

Putin in a recent statement hinted that Russia’s policy on the use of nuclear weaponscould change from one where they rely on nukes only after an attack to a situation where they would use the nukes if they feel an imminent threat is upon them, Republicworld reports.

Nevertheless, in a panel discussion of experts for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Polina Sinovets, head of the Odessa Center for Nonproliferation, said that she does not believe Vladimir Putin wants to use nukes:

For Putin, this war is a game of a chicken, and he just closed the door for himself for any kind of defeat. This is the most concerning thing for me because I still don’t think that he wants to use nuclear weapons. However, at some point, if he will feel himself trapped, then he can do it.

I still believe that Putin is rational. He has a fear. He may lose Russia. The costs and benefits are still on the table, because having Ukraine is not worth losing Russia.

Sources used:

-Newsweek: ‘Russian Commander Suggests Nukes as 'Only' Option to Win War’

-Republicworld: ‘Donetsk Militia Commander Says Nukes Are 'only Option' To Defeat NATO Amid War In Ukraine’

-Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: ‘Can Russia’s War in Ukraine End Without Nuclear Weapons?’