Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, has said that even if Russia was forced to use nuclear weapons on the Ukraine, the Western elites would not want to die in a nuclear apocalypse for a country which is just a pawn in the game. He has a good point, but context is everything. If there was destruction via radiological pollution of much of Europe, maybe the pressure would build for something to be done, if not by the US, then by another nuclear power. But, this shows that Russia has crossed the once-existing barrier of not contemplating the first strike use of nukes. There is also the possibility of the use of a nuke setting off a reaction of panic, leading to the firing of a nuke by NATO and a chain reaction effect. It is a dangerous game of nuclear chicken to play.
https://www.rt.com/russia/563587-medvedev-nuclear-weapons-ukraine/
