This is something that the West is simply failing to take seriously, that if Russia is indeed losing in the Ukraine, and will face conventional defeat, then this guarantees that Putin will use nuclear weapons. And if that happens, there is a very steep slippery slope, so that once one use is made, then it is on; the thin nuclear ice has been broken. There are reports that not only has Russia mobilised its nukes, but that Putin is now in a bunker, ready for anything. It is a sign of something that should be taken seriously.