Poland's foreign minister, Zbigniew Rau, said the alliance was in the process of delivering that message to Moscow, because of the fact that Nato s response to any use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine should be non-nuclear but devastating.
The Russian military debacle in Ukraine, where its forces are being pushed back in the east of the country, has increased concerns that a desperate Vladimir Putin could resort to using a nuclear weapon, possibly a lower-yield tactical warhead, in order to shock Ukraine into halting its resistance to his invasion.
To the best of our knowledge, Putin is threatening to use tactical nuclear weapons on Ukrainian soil, not to attack Nato, which means that Nato should respond in a conventional way, according to Rau, who spokeswoman for the NBC News program Meet the Press. The response should be devastating. This is the clear message that the Nato alliance is sending to Russia right now. Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, warned on Sunday that nuclear use by the Kremlin would have catastrophic consequences for Russia, which had been spelled out in private conversations with Russian officials.
The Russian military has expanded conscription with the intention of sending 300,000 more soldiers into Ukraine, though there are reports that the real goal is much more. The mobilization has resulted in unrest and exodus across Russia's borders, particularly of draft-age men.
Rau said that President Putin is losing the war in Ukraine. The mobilisation doesn't seem to help him win the war. Polish foreign minister said Ukraine's armed forces had already defeated Russia's professional soldiers, so the new recruits who were poorly trained and poorly equipped were unlikely to change the course of the war.
Rau said that if the mobilisation did lead to a breakthrough, it would be in Russian public opinion.
He said that the war was popular, up to 80%, for the majority of the Russian population. Every Russian family will have to take their own position towards the war, knowing that their loved ones can be sent there and can be killed there. During his trip to Washington, Rau will not meet any members of the Biden administration, but he will see congressional leaders, Sullivan's predecessor as national security adviser, John Bolton, and will visit a new museum in the US capital dedicated to the victims of communism.