Putin will order the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine only when he is sure that all five people who must press the buttons to launch a nuclear bomb will carry out the order, says investigative journalist, head of Bellingcat publication Hristo Grozev.

According to him, the President of Russia understands that if one of them refuses to comply with the order, the entire pyramid of Putin's power may collapse..

“If Putin decides to give an order to use nuclear weapons, he must be sure that everyone along the chain will carry out this order.. He understands: of these five hands, which must press the buttons in sequence, if one does not comply, then this will be a signal of insubordination. And perhaps even the physical death of Putin. Therefore, until he is sure that everyone will comply, he will not give this order,” Grozev told Radio Liberty..

According to him, Putin, among other things, started the war in Ukraine to avoid social protests, in particular from thinking youth, and to preserve the existing system of power..

At the same time, the war showed the instability of Russia in the army..

“The most protest potential is now among the most informed security officials. We can call it the " And also the FSB elite, which knows the specific number of victims among the Russian troops, knows that mothers, wives, sisters of dead or missing Russian soldiers do not stop asking questions. They know this situation will get out of control someday. These are those parts of the security forces who know the dangers for the regime, and they themselves are now preparing their future. Some of them are looking for an opportunity to take their families out of Russia, everyone is looking for ways to transfer the accumulated corruption money into dollars and euros. This is already a kind of betrayal of these people, because they do not follow the ideological orders of the Kremlin, but are preparing for an alternative reality,” Grozev added..

He added that Russian elites already understand that Putin cannot guarantee them anything..

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Earlier, Russia promised not to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine.. The corresponding statement was made by Deputy Director of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexei Zaitsev.

He claims that the Russian Federation allegedly " Also, Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin said that Russia could launch a nuclear strike solely as a response to the same type of attack..

However, Russia has already ridiculed the warnings of Western countries that it is preparing an attack on Ukraine and stated that there can never be a war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine..