There are no Checks on Putin’s Nuclear Threat to Ukraine

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Friday, September 30th, that there are no checks on Russian President Vladimir Putin and he would be the only one to decide whether to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine.

After a referendum in Moscow on Friday, Putin vowed to use all available means to protect the four regions of Ukraine he annexed – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The votes were denounced as a sham by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and condemned by the West.

The statement was interpreted as a threat by Putin to use nuclear weapons. Austin told CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS ” that he had spoken with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in the past and warned him not to go in that direction, but that it would ultimately be up to Putin to make his own decision.

“I do think he heard my message, but to be clear, the guy who makes that decision – I mean, it’s one man. There are no checks on Mr. Putin,” Austin said. “Just as he made the irresponsible decision to invade Ukraine, he could make another decision. But I don’t see anything right now that would lead me to believe that he has made such a decision.”

Putin’s aim of threatening the world with nuclear weapons will not be achieved and will only hasten his demise.