Will Russia use a tactical nuke in Ukraine?

[Emrys]

46. Sullivan was out of his depth, and was a significant factor in Biden and the allies' timidity and over-caution

during the earlier stages of the conflict. His name was and is mud among most of the Ukraine commentators, and in his own way he wasn't much less obstructive than the Trump regime has been at times.

The articles I linked in my reply above give a more measured analysis of Putin's nuclear threat strategy. I'm afraid the Russians have been so dogged and predictable in trotting out the threat of nukes every time things haven't been going their way that the scare value wore off, in much of Europe at least, with the responses ranging from fatalism ("FFS, just try it then, and we'll see where we are when the dust settles" ) to informed skepticism for the reasons my linked articles set out.

Another factor I mentioned in a reply below is Belarus. That country and Lukashenko's standing is higher with the Chinese than Russia, no doubt seeing it as a compliant stepping stone to relations with the rest of Europe after Putin blotted his copybook so spectacularly, and the Chinese would not take kindly to any action that would threaten or risk contaminating Belarus and affect Lukashenko's ability to cling to power, likely yanking Putin's chain hard if he were to seriously contemplate such an action.