The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin might commit a nuclear attack in Ukraine if his plan of taking Kyiv will not be implemented.
This was said on air of all-Ukrainian telethon by Christo Grozev, a Bellingcat investigative journalist.
He also stated that a single decision of the Kremlin’s head does not give permission to launch a nuclear warhead.
“Putin can give such an order but a nuclear weapon is not a conditional red button. There is a chain of 5 people that have to execute this order before the rocket can really fly,” Grozev says.
Investigator also said that he had a lot of communication with practitioners of special services of Russia.
"Those people are same who warned us before the war, in December and January about that, it is very possible that Putin wants it himself pretty much and that he was showing off his readiness to do that among his close people.
Now, these people say that in this new situation in order to use the nuclear weapon five people who have to execute this order are needed. At the same time there are a few people who are not going to follow such orders," Grozev said.
He also suggested that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is currently in hiding. If Russia decides on a potential nuclear strike, the military leadership must be hidden in advance. Therefore, Grozev is convinced that Shoigu is probably in a bunker.
"Following the movement of his plane we see flights to Ufa almost on daily basis. Knowing that there are bunkers gives us an obvious answer," - said the investigative journalist.