Putin using nukes ‘cannot be ruled out’ as West warned of ‘extremely painful’ attack | World | News [Video]

Vladimir Putin using nuclear weapons “cannot be ruled out” as the West and Russia edge towards direct confrontation, a former US ambassador has warned.

Frank G. Wisner, who served under former US President Bill Clinton, made the dire warning as Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine sparks increasingly dangerous tensions between Moscow and NATO.

He branded Putin a “reckless” leader, adding: “First, in the invasion of Ukraine, and second, in the threats that he’s deployed surrounding this invasion of Ukraine, including the threat of nuclear warfare.”

Speaking to The Sun, Wisner continued: “He’s signed up his military in a war with Ukraine. How much does he have left over to fight a broader conflict?

“There’s some limitations – Russian military capacity, to say the least. But is he capable of accelerating or expanding the war? Yes.

“Could he do so with unconventional means, like a nuclear weapon?It’s not to …