Get the Ricochet app

Ricochet will work fine in a browser on your mobile devices, but for the best experience please download our app.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Become a member.

Tired of the toxicity of social media? Why not join Ricochet for just $5/month? Think of it as an online bar. Come in, have a drink, hang out, say whatever you want. But don’t badger, bully, or berate the other drinkers. That's our only rule.

Why the Hell is Biden talking about Armageddon? Frederick Kagan on the chances Putin will use nukes in Ukraine

Subscribe to What the Hell Is Going OnSubscribe

Putin is incurring major losses on the battlefield. The strategic and symbolic Kerch Bridge connecting mainland Russia to Crimea was hit a few hours after Putin turned 70; Russian citizens are increasingly unhappy with their leadership; the Ukrainian counter-offensive is resilient and capitalizing on Russia's many military vulnerabilities. Putin has ramped up threats of nuclear escalation, prompting Joe Biden to warn of impending Armageddon at a recent Democratic fundraiser. Is nuclear escalation a legitimate fear? If so, how do we deter Russia from escalating without offering Putin a compromise or offramp?

Fred Kagan on these questions and more in today's episode. Kagan is the director of AEI's Critical Threats Project. He, together with the Institute for the Study of War, release a live Ukraine-Russia war tracker.

Download the transcript here.

Hosts:
Danielle PletkaMarc Thiessen