Vladimir could not be clearer. 'I am not bluffing,' he said, in relation to his threat to go nuclear. But is he? And does it automatically follow that Armageddon would unfold if Putin launched the first the world has seen since 1945?The good news is that Putin can't start World War III by simply jabbing a red button on his desk in the Kremlin. If he decides to launch an attack, the order has to go through at least three layers of checks put in place to prevent the accidental or unauthorised launch of nuclear missiles.Before reaching the nuclear silos, mobile launch sites and submarines, his command would go via three men: Russian Sergei Shoigu, Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov and the head of the Russian nuclear rocket forces, Sergei Karakayev.
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