Why Putin Can NEVER Use a Nuclear Weapon

Paul J. Warburg 37 min

Russia cannot credibly threaten nuclear war because its arsenal is likely non-functional and launching would destroy the regime. The ultimate cost of operating one of the most corrupt countries on Earth is that everything crashes in on itself.

  • Vladimir Putin

Chapters

  1. 0:00

    Novaya Zemlya's Vulnerability

    Russia removed air defenses from Novaya Zemlya, a site of massive historical nuclear testing.

  2. 4:08

    The Tsar Bomba's Power

    The Tsar Bomba was the largest human-made explosion, creating immense fear but impractical for use.

  3. 5:51

    Fear vs. Reality

    Russia uses nuclear threats as propaganda while failing to maintain actual functional capabilities.

  4. 13:11

    Lack of Maintenance

    Russia has not tested nukes in decades and lacks funds to maintain its aging arsenal.

  5. 29:17

    Corruption and Deception

    Military corruption likely means many warheads are non-functional or stripped of critical components.

  6. 32:06

    Mutually Assured Destruction

    Limited nuclear strikes guarantee total retaliation, making partial destruction a losing strategy for any leader.

  7. 35:18

    Putin's Self-Preservation

    Launching a nuclear weapon would likely destroy the regime and Putin himself rather than achieve victory.

Key points

  • 0:00

    Russia removed air defense systems from Novaya Zemlya due to widespread shortages.

  • 1:59

    Novaya Zemlya hosted over 220 nuclear blasts totaling 265 megatons of TNT.

  • 4:08

    The Tsar Bomba was 1,570 times more powerful than the combined yields of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

  • 10:31

    Russia has threatened nuclear war over 100 occasions without ever following through.

  • 13:11

    Russia has not tested a nuclear weapon since the Soviet Union collapsed over 30 years ago.

  • 21:06

    Russia spent significantly less on maintaining its nuclear arsenal than the United States.

  • 25:11

    Corruption may have led to missiles being filled with water or lacking functional parts.

  • 32:06

    Limited nuclear strikes invite total retaliation, destroying the attacker's own country.

On the map

Map of the places in “Why Putin Can NEVER Use a Nuclear Weapon”

Who and where

Places · 10

  • Russia 84
  • Ukraine 20
  • Novaya Zemlya 9
  • Tsar Bomba 6
  • Soviet Union 10
  • United States 11
  • Hiroshima 2
  • Nagasaki 2
  • People's Republic of China 3
  • Cuba 1

People · 1

  • Drawing of Vladimir Putin

    Vladimir Putin 13

    President of the Russian Federation

    Photo 1

1. Photo: Пресс-служба Президента России, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · Wikidata · redrawn in our house style (Vladimir Putin)

Organisations · 4

  • NATO 2
  • International Institute for Strategic Studies 1
  • Netflix 1
  • Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War 1

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