How will Moscow respond to the stunning Ukrainian drone strikes on its fleet of strategic aircraft? <\/p>\n
So far, the Kremlin has stayed tight-lipped, saying only that it is waiting for the results of a formal investigation into the attacks, which struck air bases thousands of miles from the Ukraine border. <\/p>\n
But fury is being openly vented across the Russia media, with pro-Kremlin pundits and bloggers seething with calls for retribution, even nuclear retaliation. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not just a pretext but a reason to launch nuclear strikes on Ukraine,\u201d the prominent \u201cTwo Majors\u201d bloggers said on their popular Telegram channel, which has over a million subscribers. <\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the mushroom cloud you can think about who lied, made mistakes and so on,\u201d they added, referring to the inevitable Kremlin search for scapegoats for the fiasco. <\/p>\n
At least one prominent Russian political analyst, Sergei Markov, urged caution, warning in a social media post that using nuclear weapons would \u201clead to real political isolation\u201d. <\/p>\n
But popular blogger Alexander Kots demanded Russia should \u201cstrike with all our might, regardless of the consequences.\u201d <\/p>\n
Of course, Russian hardliners routinely clammer for the nuclear obliteration of Ukraine, while issuing thinly veiled, but ultimately empty threats of Armageddon aimed at the Western allies. The fact they are doing so again, after such a painful series of attacks, is hardly surprising. <\/p>\n
But it would be wrong to get too complacent and dismiss all Russian nuclear saber-rattling as mere propaganda. <\/p>\n
In fact, there are some worrying reasons to take the slim possibility of a devastating Russian response a little more seriously this time around. <\/p>\n
Firstly, several Russian pundits have commented on how Ukraine\u2019s destruction of a significant number of Russian strategic nuclear bombers may be interpreted as breaching Moscow\u2019s legal nuclear threshold. <\/p>\n
The Kremlin\u2019s recently updated nuclear doctrine \u2013 which sets out conditions for a launch \u2013 states that any attack on \u201ccritically important\u201d military infrastructure which \u201cdisrupts response actions by nuclear forces\u201d could trigger a nuclear retaliation. <\/p>\n
The Ukrainian operation was \u201cgrounds for a nuclear attack,\u201d declared Vladmir Solovyov, a firebrand host on Russian state TV, calling for strikes on the Ukrainian presidential office in Kyiv, and beyond. <\/p>\n
Whatever the legality, the barrier for a Russian nuclear response remains mercifully high and such a strike is likely to be dismissed in Kremlin circles as an impractical overkill. <\/p>\n
For a start, it would poison relations with key Russian trading partners like China and India, as well as provoke potential military action against Russian forces. <\/p>\n
Inevitable mass casualties would be certain to invite universal scorn, further isolating Russia on the international stage. <\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the problem: the Kremlin may now feel overwhelming pressure to restore deterrence. <\/p>\n