Financial Times reveals secret efforts to dissuade Putin from nuclear use in Ukraine
A Financial Times investigation details how three men worked through a back channel in 2022 to urge Vladimir Putin not to deploy tactical nuclear weapons.
Key Takeaways
AIAn investigation by the Financial Times has uncovered secret efforts led by an American lawyer and a banker, with the help of a former German spy, to contain the risk of Russian nuclear escalation at the start of the Ukraine war in 2022.
According to the report, a Russian businessman close to the Kremlin warned in 2022 that President Vladimir Putin might resort to using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, noting that developments in the conflict could trigger a third world war.
The three men collaborated to open an unofficial channel of communication with Putin, through which they sought to persuade him not to use nuclear weapons.
The newspaper explained that this secret channel delivered a message from the United States to Putin, assuring him that Washington was not seeking to topple the Russian government or destroy Russia.
The day after the American message was received, Putin announced that the use of nuclear weapons would offer no political or military benefit for Russia.