Russia - threadbanned users in OP

Putin could simply respond with, "If you nuke me, I will nuke you and everyone else. You have a few nukes, but I have thousands."

Maybe a nuclear threat from Ukraine would genuinely be the quickest way to get Russia out of Ukraine, but there's no way any western nation will roll the dice on providing them, for the same reasons NATO is not currently prepared to directly engage Russian forces.

Don't ban the rallies, even though they are way beyond obnoxious. Two reasons: one, they are against our hopefully liberal principles which is to tolerate freedom of expression unless there is a pretty direct threat of violence; two, any such ban will be used by the Kremlin as "evidence" of Western suppression of "anti Nazi" political opinion.

We are bigger than these goons.

If Ukraine somehow got a few nuclear weapons, and if the gave Russia a 24 hour ultimatium that Moscow and St. Petersburg would be obliterated unless Russia withdrew, then Ukraine would 100% be obliterated by Russia's nuclear weapons before that 24 hour period was up. Any country with a nuclear arsenal has it as the first point on their nuclear doctrine that they will use the weapons against anyone who threatens them with nuclear weapons. This is just a fact. Ukraine can have all the ethical justification in the world to actively protect themselves in such a way, but the cold reality is that it would result in their nuclear obliteration, and almost certainly an escalation to global nuclear conflict. There is no way that Russia would back down to that threat. The entire point of having a nuclear arsenal is that you're willing to use it in exactly this scenario, and there is absolutely no reason to think that Russia are not willing to do so.

The good news is that none of this is going to happen. No-one is going to give or station nuclear weapons in Ukraine while this war is ongoing. It would be an insane thing to do. It doesn't matter how ethically justified it might be, or how wrong and evil Russia are. The realities of the situation, and the inevitable outcomes, have to be taken into account. Would the worst Pyrrhic victory of all history be worth it? Almost any reasonable person would say no.

One could make a good argument that Ukraine would not have been invaded in the first place if they had kept their nuclear weapons from the breakup of the Soviet Union. However, that ship has sailed. Maybe there'll be a chance again to revisit that after this war, but that will entirely depend on how it ends and what strength is left in Russia when it does.

Putin has been telling all of Russia and the world that part of the reason for his invasion is that Ukraine has ballistic missiles, as well as "Nazi's" So he couldn't exactly blame that on the West if it were suddenly to become common knowledge that they do in fact have nukes.

If they were smuggled in to secret locations all over Ukraine, set up, then a discreet "leaking" of their possession of these... perhaps Zelensky and a few of his commanders pictured with them, then plastered all over the internet. Hell, they could even set one off in a remote part of Ukraine as a warning.

It doesn't matter that Putin has thousands of nukes. The majority probably are not active or don't work. But that's besides the point. What it boils down to is would Putin be willing to take the risk that Moscow and St.Petersburg would be obliterated from the map, at the expense of continuing his futile and irrational war?

Very well put, Gregor, but rather contradictory...

Russia HAS threatened using nuclear weapons. Several times.

So by your logic Ukraine has every right to reciprocate that threat, or even use them... as per your above quote. As do all the Western powers.

If there's no threat in return then he's just going to carry on. And I believe it will escalate more and more and more, until the time comes when Putin has nothing left to fight with, and then we'll see nuclear fireworks, regardless.

I'd like to reiterate that the sole purpose of the supplying nuclear weapons to Ukraine idea was as a deterrent against the Horde getting desperate and thinking the could get a win just by nuking Kyiv, with negligible consequences, which unfortunately they are likely right about.

These should absolutely not be used to threaten the Horde with get out of Ukraine, or else... And the possession of them should be kept secret from the public, but with a enough of a leaking that Putrid is let in on the secret.

All the threats I've seen made out of Russia so far have been implied threats from the Kremlin, i.e. 'there will be... consequences... for those who help Ukraine...' and crowing from loudmouths on Russian state TV, but I haven't seen a direct threat of nuclear attack from the Kremlin, nor from the Whitehouse for that matter. They go right up to the line, but they know the incredible seriousness of a direct threat, with agency, in direct language.

True, but it's the threat that counts

It could be crewed by "Ukrainian passport holders"

I like the idea, it's out there somewhere and all arranged off Ukrainian soil

I don't see Putin nuking Kyiv as a possibility. Even leaving aside the madness of using nuclear weapons offensively, Kyiv is seen as the second city of the Slavic world. If he's going to have that city, he'll want to have it intact.

Then you've more confidence in Putin's mindset than most.

It's my belief that he'll do absolutely anything to secure his aims, whatever they may be. And when his war machine stutters then eventually breaks down, as it inevitably will due to accumulated vehicle, machinery and equipment losses, he'll revert to chemical or nuclear threats - which I believe he'll carry out if he doesn't get what he wants. He doesn't strike me as the sort to worry about Kyiv being the second city of the Slavic world, and he also doesn't care who he hurts, tortures or kills. As with all the assassinations he's ordered, he wants to get his own way regardless of the cost.

Other countries are going to be targeted by him as well. Things are only going to escalate, unfortunately.

Very possible.

Though they are having a hard enough time with the Ukraine, I don't see them starting on NATO any time soon. Even if he goes full Zapp Branigan and orders the mobilisation, that's a lot of Russian youth that are gonna die.

Pinch of salt but..