There are threats coming from Russia to start a nuclear war if the West continues to supply new types of weapons to Ukraine

Similar hints were made today by Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Medvedev, and yesterday by the famous political scientist Karaganov.

The possibility of such an outcome was analyzed by the American research corporation Rand, which, among other things, does analytics for the Pentagon.

Here’s the key from her new report.

The main point is that the course of the war could lead to “significant further escalation either within Ukraine or to a potential expansion of the conflict involving other players.”

The development of the conflict assumes that Russia may use nuclear weapons (note that Kiev considers this scenario unrealistic and calls for increasing arms supplies without fear of nuclear escalation, while Biden admits that the Russian Federation may use nuclear weapons in Ukraine).

Rand believes Russia is currently being held back in making such a decision by NATO’s military capabilities, the possibility of losing Chinese support and the Kremlin’s belief that it can achieve its goals in Ukraine without nuclear war.

This could be changed by a sharp deterioration in the Russian position on the battlefield or an equally sharp deterioration in internal stability in the Russian Federation.

In addition, Russia, according to Rand analysts, did not initially plan a war with the entire West and does not have well-developed scenarios in this regard.

However, if the use of Russian nuclear weapons becomes inevitable, it could turn out to be “surprisingly extensive and practically unlimited.”

“The Kremlin may estimate that the costs and risks it would face if the nuclear taboo were violated would be the same regardless of whether large or small quantities of weapons were used and whether the warheads involved were tactical or strategic,” the analysis said.

Rand sees opportunities for escalation on the part of Ukraine. We are talking about strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation, which could push the Kremlin to tougher decisions.

“The longer the conflict drags on, the higher the risks of such a scenario,” Rand writes.