Vladimir Putin started his invasion in February last year thinking three things.

Firstly that his army was fantastic; secondly that the Ukrainian army was very weak; and thirdly that the international community was too self-absorbed, complacent and apathetic to intervene.

Well, his army is shown to be subpar; the Ukrainian army, though smaller, has not been broken; so it’s only in the third area - international support - that Putin believes he can now have an effect.

Putin is trying to chip away at international support for Ukraine, and the easiest way for him to do that is to raise the spectre of nuclear war.

However, we shouldn’t be scared of these threats.

#russia #ukraine #putin #nuclear

Defence in Depth is a weekly output of high quality comment, news and analysis of the big defence stories.

For the previous episode of Defence in Depth, visit: https://youtu.be/LrroiM4m6qk

For our podcast Ukraine: The Latest, visit: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVCYlsANGtNkzMeM9Fdmqzxr

Since the outbreak of war in February 2022, The Telegraph has been tracking donations and deliveries of weapons to Ukraine; for a guide on these weapons, visit: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/ukraine-weapons-tanks-jets-missiles-military-equipment-war-russia/

To sign up for The Dispatches Newsletter mentioned in the video, visit: https://secure.telegraph.co.uk/customer/secure/newsletter/dispatches

Subscribe to The Telegraph with our special offer: just £1 for 3 months. Start your free trial now:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/customer/subscribe/digitalsub/3for1/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_pvid_conversion-subscription_editorial-iniative_03-22_EGW-13_organic_youtube

Get the latest headlines: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.

#nuclearwar #belarus #ukrainewar #war #vladimirputin #lukashenko #china