What if Putin Goes Nuclear? The West's 3 Options

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued fresh threats to the West. Whether you believe him or not it's worth evaluating the game theory of this situation and the three options for the West has if Putin does reach for the nuclear button.

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[matheusferrao]

Putin claiming anyone is doing any form of blackmailing is one of the funniest things I've heard today.

[iordanvassilev]

During the Cuban crisis generals advised Kenedy to launch the nukes and I feel his response is really relevant: "these war hawks have one advantage before us. If they are wrong, none of us would be alive to call them out on it."

[andrewstevens]

I giggled at the "Joining European wars late is our thing" part, its so true.

[JustAnotherAccount]

Conventional warfare seems like the best option if nukes are used against ukraine. However if a NATO ally was nuked, and there is substantial threat of more, then nuclear warfare is the only option

[joshlikescola]

The best strategy is to make very clear if Putin goes anywhere near the nuclear codes that he will fall down several flights of stairs before subsequently falling out of a window.

[timm_Rudiger]

what went wrong that we end up with nuclear explosion option in 2022. i miss COVID.

[albevanhanoy]

I don't think he will go nuclear. He depends on Xi's support, and Xi would disapprove of a nuclear escalation.

[stephennewton]

If he goes nuclear he’s screwed.

If he stays conventional he’s screwed.

If he retreats he’s screwed.

No capability of going forward.

So I’m guessing he’s screwed.

[riichobamin]

As much as I love the Metro game series, I DO NOT WANT TO LIVE IT.

[williamlloyd]

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) states that Ukraine has 500 Tochka-U missiles in its arsenal in 2022. If Russia was to use a nuclear bomb on Ukraine, Ukraine might decide to risk loss of western support and target Russia directly. It’s not as if they couldn’t create a dirty bomb given their knowledge of nuclear power and spent fuel rods from nuclear power plants.
PS- A "dirty bomb" is a type of "radiological dispersal device" that combines a conventional explosive, such as dynamite, with radioactive material. A dirty bomb is not a nuclear bomb. Ukraine has 16 nuclear reactors across four nuclear power plants. Only some are in area captured by Russia.
PS2 - what an incredible waste of human lives and resources this conflict represents

[seeingtheforest]

Having seen the performance of Putin''s *conventional* forces in Ukraine, I find myself asking, will his nukes even get off the launch pad?/??

[QuantumAscension]

Putin Logic: "I can threaten anyone with nuclear weapons, but don't you dare threaten me with nuclear weapons!" 🤔

[LizardSpork]

I think the pressure should not be focused on Putin but on the entire Russian chain of command, i.e. anyone following through on Putin's order to deploy nuclear weapon will be a target for termination. And if necessary, broaden that list to any of his supporters advocating for the use of nuclear weapons.

[ionnanskilliorus]

Wish we could just fast forward to the part where he's dangling from a lamppost by his ankles.

[Steven-lyei]

Man ik it was an ad, but truss issues being number 10 must have made the team laugh... I got a good chuckle from it

[smintili]

Sidenote: First of all congratulations that your podcast made it to number ten, but also funny how a podcast about the PM made it to Number 10.
Get it? 😄

[mikitz]

Imagine Vlad being accidentally flung off the window off his nuclear bunker.

[fenhen]

Remember that Putin doesn’t have sole control over Russian nukes. He could well order them and the people in the military say “nah mate, I’m not causing WW3”.
This kinda thing has happened before.

[domenico]

This is madness...the people in command have gone crazy and we are spectating as the world goes down this spiral of violence. We should lock all the leaders up in a room and don't let them out until they talk this through

[cheguevara]

“I’ll do it, I swear!” Putin for the 7 millionth time in 2027 probably