Putin's bark is much worse than his bite

Russian President Vladimir Putin frequently lays out threats he has no intention of fulfilling - and it's becoming more obvious by the day.

Hello and welcome to Hostile World with Chris Hughes, a weekly newsletter about the world of defence and geopolitics. You can subscribe here and follow me on Twitter @defencechris. Thank you!

Russia's President Vladimir Putin on September 5, 2024 (Image: Vyacheslav Prokofyev/ Pool / AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his cohorts have frequently brandished nuclear threats following his quickly and humiliatingly-bungled invasion of Ukraine.

Shortly after his biggest miscalculation in 25 years of rule, the deluded kleptocrat warned the West that intervention would trigger a reaction “such as you have never seen.”

And yet Ukraine has called his bluff - not for the first time - and actually performed a devastating incursion into Russia through the Kursk region with almost zero significant response.

Kremlin rules written in 2020 say the Federation can use nuclear weapons if the state is under threat or in reaction to a nuclear attack, presumably by the West.

Yet a nuclear response - the very thing that has held back the West from taking a more physical role in Ukraine’s brave fight for survival - has thus far not happened.

Russia’s government is so ingrained with lies, deception, spin and corruption that it even lies to itself repeatedly - its nuclear threat now so neutered it is all but useless.