Last month, Vladimir Putin sparked new nuclear worries with his brazen rhetoric when he announced a series of new steps aimed at escalating the war he unleashed against Ukraine.. However, military experts say the Russian autocrat has a number of non-nuclear weapons up his sleeve that he can use to escalate in an attempt to cut his losses on the battlefield..

The Hill writes about this, recalling that Putin and his generals have already faced accusations of committing war crimes and even genocide against Ukrainians.. But so far he has refrained from using weapons of mass destruction. The publication lists ways Russia can inflict massive losses on Ukraine.

Biological weapons.

Russia has repeatedly accused the United States of producing biological weapons in Ukraine, albeit without foundation. Washington reacted to this with warnings that Moscow itself could prepare a biological or chemical attack..

“There were also suggestions that Ukraine possesses biological and chemical weapons.. This is a clear sign that Putin is considering doing both,” US President Joe Biden said in March..

[see_also ids\u003d"

The Hill explains that bioweapons are pathogens like anthrax, botulism or ricin. They are deliberately distributed to provoke disease and death of people.. The use of such weapons is prohibited by a number of international laws and agreements.. Russia inherited parts of the Soviet program to develop biological pathogens. And the State Department believes that Moscow is still supporting these developments..

Robert Pietersen, an analyst with the Center for Biosafety and Biopreparedness, noted that while there is no clear evidence of the existence of a large-scale biological weapons program, public information strongly indicates that Russia is still maintaining and modernizing what is left from the Soviet era.. In his opinion, the war that Moscow unleashed against Ukraine could push the Russian military to solve problems, such as corruption, that have hindered progress in the fields of genetic engineering for biological weapons..

“Most likely, the Russian army is now looking for weapons that would change the course of the war on the battlefield in Ukraine and which could also be useful in a wider war against NATO,” said Pietersen..

Chemical attacks.

If Russia mounts a chemical or biological attack, it will be relatively easy to confirm. Therefore, experts are convinced that Moscow will try to arrange an operation “under a false flag”, trying to disguise everything as if Ukraine is poisoning its own people in order to discredit the Russian Federation..

[see_also ids\u003d"

Georgetown University professor of security studies Ben Connable is convinced that such attempts are likely to fail..

“However, it can still be an effective tactic for domestic Russian audiences.. But the days of throwing dust in the eyes of Western leaders and reporters are long gone.. Advanced Western intelligence and expertise will not allow the Russian army to secretly use chemical weapons, ”the expert believes.

Such an attack is likely to strengthen Ukrainian resolve and further increase Western support for the Ukrainian army.. At the same time, the Russian troops themselves, who try to go on the offensive in the contaminated territory, will be at great risk. The main types of chemical weapons are nerve agents, as well as toxins that cause burns, asphyxiation and blood poisoning.. They're all meant to kill or maim. Putin was accused of organizing chemical attacks against Russian opposition figures and former Russian spies using Novichok poison. Russia is also involved in chemical attacks during the wars in Chechnya and Syria. On the issue of biological weapons, Russia signed and ignored international conventions, promising to get rid of the chemical arsenal.

Harvard Kennedy School professor Matthew Bunn said Russia could view a chemical attack as a less risky move than using nuclear weapons..

“I think that NATO and the Biden administration are actively, but privately, sending signals to different parties in order to prevent something like this from happening,” the expert said..

Destruction of dams.

Among other options that Russia is considering to suppress the Ukrainian offensive in the south is the destruction of the dams on the Dnieper.. Professor of political science at the University of California at San Diego Bronislav Stanchev. He admitted that the Russian army could destroy two dams upstream.

“This will lead to the flooding of the entire left bank of the Dnieper and force the Ukrainians to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people instead of attacking Kherson, not to mention mass casualties,” Stanchev said..

“Also, ultra-radicals in Moscow are calling for a strike on dams in the north of Kyiv.. The consequences of the collapse of the Dnieper reservoir cascade would be catastrophic, since the low-lying areas that would be flooded are very densely populated,” he added..

Russia has already been hitting critical infrastructure across the country. Last month, Russian rockets damaged a dam in Krivoy Rog, forcing more than a hundred people to evacuate..

Conventional means of warfare.

Russian rocket attacks on civilian infrastructure this month have shown that Russia can escalate the war through conventional means.. The war has already claimed the lives of more than 6,000 Ukrainian civilians, including 397 children, according to data from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Putin's mobilization of hundreds of thousands of new soldiers in Russia proves his desire to send more manpower to the war, despite the political risk. Air attacks have failed to contain the Ukrainian military offensive and have demonstrated the limits of Russian air power. The West is trying to strengthen the Ukrainian air defense system. At the same time, missiles still leave their mark, the WHO noted last week..

“Losing housing and lack of access to fuel or electricity due to infrastructure damage can be a matter of life and death if people cannot provide themselves with heat,” said WHO Europe Director Hans Henry Kluge..

Putin could also announce a general mobilization, which would allow the army to expand the pool of potential recruits.. However, for this he will have to forget the talk about the " But the Russian autocrat has so far avoided it..