Oct 2, 2026 | Russia has warned NATO that it could use nuclear weapons if the alliance attempts to isolate the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. President Vladimir Putin has now said that if Russian territory comes under direct attack, the use of “all types of weapons” at Moscow’s disposal would immediately be on the agenda.
Kaliningrad is heavily militarized but geographically isolated, sitting on the Baltic Sea between NATO members Poland and Lithuania. Its location makes it strategically valuable to Russia, and potentially vulnerable in any direct confrontation with NATO.
Heather Williams, director of the Project on Nuclear Issues at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins DW to examine how seriously NATO should take Moscow’s latest warning, whether nuclear threats have become an effective tool of Russian deterrence, and how an unintended incident around Kaliningrad could escalate into a much larger confrontation.
May 24, 2022 • Julia Davis, columnist for the Daily Beast who monitors Russian media, talks with Rachel Maddow about the increasingly loose talk from Russian officials and media figures about using nuclear weapons.
May 1, 2022 • “The moment WMDs are brought in, it will fundamentally change the nature of the conflict. And I think that's a very clear warning that we need to address to Vladimir Putin.”
Fabrice Pothier, former NATO director of policy planning, talks to Carole Walker about Putin’s threats of using nuclear warfare.
