This is John Batchelor, conversation with colleague Peter Huse, President of Geostrategic analysis,

a fellow at the National Institute for Deterrence Studies, nuclear weapon deterrent studies.

What does it mean that Moscow is telling us that the Duma has lowered the threshold of nuclear weapon use?

Lowered the threshold. Peter explains here very carefully.

It's nuke to nuke. More of this later. What the Russians are doing are trying to intimidate

and coerce the United States and its allies as long as well Ukraine, to get us to stop using what they consider

to be fairly significant military force against Russia proper, let alone what's being used

inside Ukraine. And they've been doing this ever since they invaded back in 2022. So what's new

is they've explicitly said, well, you're helping Ukraine, you're a nuclear power,

and therefore, as far as we're concerned, Ukraine is a nuclear power.

And that fits into their doctrine that they have the right to use nuclear weapons

to respond to an attack from someone, a country that is a nuclear power.