The war in Ukraine is now entering its third year. What has not changed in more than 1,000 days of war is Russia's threatening posture. During this time, many of the Kremlin's declared red lines have been crossed, but a threatening nuclear strike has so far not occurred.
But Callum MacKenzie, an SRF reporter from Russia, explained in an interview that Vladimir Putin still achieved the goals behind these threats. He gave three examples:
long range missile
An ATACMS missile is launched in Ukraine. The country is also now allowed to fire on targets in Russia.Image: trapezoid
“The current case is a great example of how Putin exploits these threats. He uses it to scare Western countries away from a project,” MacKenzie told SRF. Ukraine requested the use of these long-range missiles months ago to target Russian bombers.
However, NATO has so far avoided taking this step due to concerns about a Russian nuclear reaction. Now they have also been approved for use against targets on Russian soil, but in the meantime the Kremlin has moved its bombers to airfields out of range.
Sanctions
The Russian central bank has $220 billion worth of funds stored in the West. Image: trapezoid
The decision is similar to the Russian central bank's decision that funds in the EU should be frozen. Shortly after making this decision, Putin responded by putting his nuclear forces on alert.
When the EU decided to use the interest on these Russian funds to finance Ukraine's reconstruction, the Kremlin talked about expropriation and again threatened to use nuclear weapons.
“Russian funds were not released again, but the West then hesitated to impose further sanctions,” McKenzie said.
weapons delivery
Weapons Systems and Ammunition: Each delivery to Ukraine is preceded by months of discussions.Image: trapezoid
NATO has been supplying arms and ammunition to Ukraine almost from the beginning of the war. But even after 1,000 days of war, negotiations over which weapons should be delivered to Ukraine, and in what quantities, are moving slowly. This also goes back to Russia's threatening posture.
Before the first batch of deliveries in 2022, Putin has already stated that if the West intervenes, it can expect an unprecedented response. As the debate over arms deliveries continues to show, this threat is still having an impact.
in conclusion
SRF reporter McKenzie said: “These threats tend to work, which explains why Putin makes them so frequently.” Further: “This is not about a real plan to use nuclear weapons, but about achieving certain goals through threats. ” As the three examples mentioned above show, this is exactly what has worked many times so far. (Leo)
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