Nuclear brinkmanship in Putin’s war: Upping the ante

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the threat of nuclear war has loomed over the conflict. Yet with President Vladimir Putin’s latest announcement that Russia would hold exercises for tactical nuclear weapons use in combat—supposedly in response to “provocative statements” from Western officials—Russia’s nuclear brinksmanship has possibly reached a new phase, in which higher risks need to be met with an upgraded Western deterrence posture.