New York, December 22: A former CIA analyst who is now part of the Centre for a New American Security think tank warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin might launch a nuclear attack on a NATO country, triggering a direct war between Russia and the UK.

Peter Schroeder argued that US President Joe Biden’s administration made a “blunder” when they downplayed the possibility of Vladimir Putin resorting to nuclear weapons, Newsweek reported. Schroeder wrote in an article for Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, December 20: "Putin is not likely to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, but he could very well use one against NATO. “Putin may not be afraid of a nuclear confrontation… and may think he has a unique ability to handle a nuclear crisis.” Nuclear War Alert? Russia President Vladimir Putin Puts Nuke Capable ‘Satan 2’ Sarmat Missile to Combat Duty (Watch Video).

Such an attack on a NATO member would likely drag all the other members, including the UK, into a direct war with Russia. Schroeder added, “Putin will act very fast if he escalates the war, for example by using conventional weapons against NATO, to prevent the United States from avoiding a crisis. Washington will have a hard time stopping a Kremlin that is so confident."

Schroeder also claimed that US officials were “growing too relaxed” about the Russian nuclear threat and that they “misunderstood Putin’s words and the factors that prevent Moscow from using nuclear weapons.” Nuclear War To Break Out? Russia to Start Training on Nuclear Strike, Says Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

This followed the US administration’s announcement in October that they were developing a “new nuclear bomb version” to keep a “strong and reliable deterrence”, the report added. On Tuesday, December 19, Putin said that Moscow’s nuclear arsenal was almost fully modernised, as reported by Bloomberg.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 22, 2023 01:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).