There is no doubt that Russia faced a number of challenges during the invasion of Ukraine.
Putin was convinced that Russian forces would take control of the neighboring country within three days, but 13 months later the war continues. Russia struggled to conquer land, while suffering enormous losses, both in terms of soldiers and equipment.
But in one area, Putin has achieved “striking success,” according to a Russian expert.
– Extremely successful
Last week, Putin announced that Russia would deploy so-called tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus from July 1 this year. The trigger, according to Putin, was Great Britain’s decision to send armor-piercing munitions containing depleted uranium to Ukraine.
This has led to a “storm of alarming reports” in the West, says Keir Giles, a renowned Russia expert at think tank Chatham House, following the news.
– Russia has managed to use its nuclear arsenal very successfully – without having launched a single missile. They took advantage of their nuclear weapons by making empty threats of potential nuclear attacks to dissuade the West from further supporting Ukraine, Giles writes in an analysis for CNN.
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