The officially stated position of Russia is not to get involved in a conventional war with NATO (that Russia knows it can't win) and immediately escalate to a "limited" nuclear war (that they believe they can win). It appears that (from the Russian standpoint) the nuclear "escalation ladder" looks as this:
- kaboom
- Tactical nuclear strike against a single (non-nuclear) NATO state in Western Europe
-Massive tactical nuclear strikes against (non-nuclear) NATO state(s) in Western Europe
-Tactical nuclear strike(s) against nuclear NATO states, but outside the territory of US, GB and France
-KABOOM
and, from Russia's standpoint, an advance from one step of the ladder to the next are not automatic.
The officially stated position of Russia is not to get involved in a conventional war with NATO (that Russia knows it can't win) and immediately escalate to a "limited" nuclear war (that they believe they can win). It appears that (from the Russian standpoint) the nuclear "escalation ladder" looks as this:
- kaboom
- Tactical nuclear strike against a single (non-nuclear) NATO state in Western Europe
-Massive tactical nuclear strikes against (non-nuclear) NATO state(s) in Western Europe
-Tactical nuclear strike(s) against nuclear NATO states, but outside the territory of US, GB and France
-KABOOM
and, from Russia's standpoint, an advance from one step of the ladder to the next are not automatic.
On the other hand, from the US... (read more)