That's what we used them for in World War II. Don't kid yourself. The Russians do not play chicken. They have warned the West (meaning Europe) many times that they will use nuclear weapons against any "existential threat." One can view their development of hypersonic missiles as a means of extending conventional technology so as to defer the use of nuclear weapons.
Europe is still thinking that by striking first as NATO, it can sucker the United States into a conflict over Article 5 obligations. Except that Article 5 does not cover situations where NATO has struck the first blow. I'm sure that Lavrov et al. are discussing these matters continually with the U.S. back channels.
That's what we used them for in World War II. Don't kid yourself. The Russians do not play chicken. They have warned the West (meaning Europe) many times that they will use nuclear weapons against any "existential threat." One can view their development of hypersonic missiles as a means of extending conventional technology so as to defer the use of nuclear weapons.
Europe is still thinking that by striking first as NATO, it can sucker the United States into a conflict over Article 5 obligations. Except that Article 5 does not cover situations where NATO has struck the first blow. I'm sure that Lavrov et al. are discussing these matters continually with the U.S. back channels.