Former British ambassador to Russia warns Putin could use nuclear weapons ‘if things go very badly wrong for him’

The former British ambassador to Russia has warned that any use of nuclear weapons being used in Ukraine “cannot be ruled out entirely.”

Sir Tony Brenton told Sky News that the war in Ukraine has now entered a “decisive phase” and warned that Russian troops could success in taking over the Donbas region.

Read more on Russia-Ukraine war:

World warned they ‘must prepare for Russian nuclear attack’ as Putin’s nuclear bombers are flying over the Black Sea

‘Mushroom cloud’ seen in Ukrainian city with 1.5 million people ‘where a fierce battle is under way’

Putin could launch ‘some kind of missile strike on a NATO base’ where weapons are being prepared for Ukraine

Vladimir Putin is recruiting ‘child soldiers’ to fight in Ukraine who make up 25% of the Russian army

Sir Tony warned that should Russian forces take over the Donbas region entirely this will provide Vladimir Putin with a “huge negotiating ploy” and he then “go again for Kyiv.”

It it more likely that the battle for eastern Ukraine will enter a “long war of attrition” and both sides could get “bogged down,” he added.

Sir Tony said that he remembers Putin being a very “focused” leader who was “not very nice” and he was “driven by the desire to make Russia great again.”

The former British ambassador to Russia said, he is “a man who took risks but calculated very carefully before taking them.

“Very clearly the Putin we are dealing with now is in some significant ways different. He has taken this huge risk of this war.”

Sir Tony added, “He’s talked a couple of times about going nuclear which would be a very big threshold to cross if he went for it but I wouldn’t rule it out entirely if things go very badly wrong for him.”