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Russia has the world's largest arsenal of nuclear weapons. But from Moscow's perspective, the atomic deterrent was not enough to keep the US and its NATO allies from backing Ukraine against Russia.
That was unexpected since the Kremlin views this as a Western intervention in a proxy war that is strategically vital to Russia, Dmitri Trenin, an ex-Russian intelligence colonel and former director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
For Trenin, all nuclear bets are off if the trajectory of the conflict leads to direct military conflict between Russia and NATO.
"If there is such a collision, then (...) a nuclear exchange between Russia and the United States may not be seen as a fantasy," he says. "This is my worry."
Watch the full interview with Trenin in the season premiere of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer's sixth season. airing on US public television nationwide. Check local listings.
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- Nuclear weapons could be used; Russia's war gets more dangerous ›
- The Graphic Truth: The US-Russia nuclear race ›
- Will Putin drop a nuke on Ukraine? ›
- Podcast: NATO’s Russia problem: the increasing danger of military confrontation between nuclear powers ›
- Why Russia is fighting in Ukraine without any allies - GZERO Media ›
- Russia's war: no end in sight - GZERO Media ›
- Putin's endgame in Ukraine - GZERO Media ›
- Russia leaves nuclear test ban treaty in show of public posturing - GZERO Media ›