The West has provided limited assistance to Ukraine assuming that to move more quickly could lead Putin to use nuclear weapons; but this policy is wrong because that assumption is, Aleksandr Skobov says. If the West is to prevent Putin from going nuclear, it must change course, seize the initiative, and show him just how dangerous his policies are.
Putin has long pursued a policy of “escalation for the sake of escalation,” and he will continue to do so unless he is removed or unless he concludes that escalation will be more dangerous to him and his regime than not, the Moscow commentator says. So far, he sees no reason to draw that conclusion (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=632AF4126A2A2).
If the West is to prevent Putin from using nuclear weapons, it must pursue not a gradual upping of the ante which the Kremlin leader will counter by raising the stakes until the West blinks but…
