Is Vladimir Putin happy to risk nuclear war to avoid admitting defeat? | Andrew Roth

Russian leader's escalatory threat to annex parts of Ukraine in effort to halt counteroffensive is fraught with risk

Vladimir Putin has backed himself into a corner in Ukraine. And true to form, the Russian leader is ready to escalate, perhaps up to the brink of nuclear war, rather than admit defeat.

Seven months after Putin launched his invasion, Russian troops have been driven back in the Kharkiv region, and Ukrainian forces are advancing in Luhansk and squeezing his troops and supply lines in Kherson.