As the West prepares a war crimes noose for Putin, analysts worry the cornered Russian may reach for a tactical nuclear weapon.

(Originally published March 22 in “What in the World“) After careful consideration, the U.S. Pentagon has decided to go ahead and arm Ukraine with Soviet-made missile defense systems familiar to the Ukrainians. The United States will be sending over something called an SA-8, which The Wall Street Journal describes as “a short-range, tactical air defense system designed to move with ground forces and provide cover from aircraft and helicopters. While the SA-8 has a shorter range, it is highly mobile and potentially easier to hide.” I wonder where Ukraine might get more aircraft and helicopters.

The U.S. acquired the SA-8s as part of a clandestine program to scoop up old Soviet weapons from the Eastern bloc after the fall of the Soviet Union—a kind of Soldier of Fortune meets “Storage Wars.”

Missile defense may come in very handy. Not only are Russian forces bombarding Ukraine with conventional missiles and now hypersonic missiles, but analysts worry that continued frustration with the stalemate in Ukraine may tempt Russian President Vladimir Putin to deploy small, tactical nuclear weapons. The aim of using such weapons, which have just a fraction of the power of the atomic bomb that wiped out Hiroshima, would be not only to kill Ukrainian defenders and break their resolve, but also to send a warning to the West against continued assistance.

If you were watched the prequel to this thriller, you’ll remember that Americans never let a good military challenge to their “credibility” go unanswered. Luckily, the U.S. has been developing its own nuclear hors d’oeuvres for years. But only the Russians have been training their forces how to shift from conventional to nuclear warfare. And if you think the war might go the other way and de-escalate, think again: world leaders are already hammering away at a war-crimes gallows for Putin and his cronies. For Putin, there is no retreating now.

The new Cold War will naturally expand on the old one. Since the old Cold War divided the entire world into spheres of influence with only a few pockets of neutrality or non-alignment, Cold War II is boldly going where no soldier has gone before, into space. Australia has just created its own version of the U.S. Space Force to counter whatever threats China and Russia may pose to Western interests from beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

Meanwhile in cyberspace, U.S. President Joe Biden has warned that Russia is considering cyberattacks against the U.S. to retaliate against Washington’s economic sanctions against Moscow.