From a detonation over the Black Sea or an uninhabited part of Ukraine as a show of their nuclear capabilities and their willingness to use them, to an actual strike against a Ukrainian military target or on a city, no possibility is off the table. And as those war games play out about what Putin might potentially do, how the West should respond is also on the board.
Military analysts were quick to rule out a proportional nuclear counter-strike, opting instead for an overwhelming conventional military, political and diplomatic force to further isolate Russia. If Putin did decide to strike a Ukrainian city, despite the fact it would undoubtedly endanger Russian troops and draw radioactive blowback on Russia itself, Putin would instantly go from an autocratic and authoritarian political leader to a global pariah.
