From the Heritage Foundation, I'm Michelle Cordero, and this is Heritage Explains.

Just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, he put his nuclear weapons

on high alert.

So what does it mean to be on high alert?

It means that his missiles are armed and ready with nuclear warheads that could be ordered

within 15 minutes.

But mostly, it serves as a warning.

A reminder to those supporting Ukraine of Russia's nuclear superpower status and potential consequences.

Remember, Russia possesses the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world, and it's

not afraid to make threats.

Recently, Russian state television threatened the UK with a nuclear weapon dubbed by NATO as

Satan 2 for its support of Ukraine.

What will happen after Boris Johnson's words about a retaliatory strike on Russia?

Why do they threaten vast Russia with nuclear weapons while they're only a small island?

The island is so small that one Sarmut missile is enough to drown it once and for all. With Russian forces struggling to

overtake Ukraine, how likely is the Kremlin to actually escalate the war by using a nuclear weapon on Ukraine?

And if they did, how would they do it?

And what should the reaction from the United States be?

Our guest today is Peter Brooks, Heritage's Senior Research Fellow for Weapons of Mass Destruction and Counter-Proliferation.

Our conversation after this short break.

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