some video from outside a nuclear energy site in ukraine. we are told these are workers and residents that are blocking a roadway in front of that nuclear site trying to keep russian forces out. we know putin has already put his nuclear forces on high alert. russia has captured the chernobyl nuclear plant. general, how big is the nuclear threat right now? well, there are two different kinds of nuclear threats. there s a nuclear threat from putin s missiles, which is a significant intercontinental ballistic missile threat. there s also the threat of what we re looking at on tv right now that basically the russians hold that nuclear plant hostage, and if, for whatever reason, whatever crazy ideas putin might have, they actually destroy it releasing significant amount of radiation in the area which we ve seen around chernobyl and other nuclear accidents before. either or both are a significant
whether it s seizing these yachts, the sanctions that have been leveled or even the strong resistance from the ukrainian people that we re seeing happen on the ground, on the battlefield, russia is feeling this pressure from all sides. what does that do to a leader like putin? it makes him feel humiliated and also probably instills more desire for revenge because this is somebody who has built himself up as the defender of russian values against the west. he s demonized the west. he s invested so much with his personality cult. this is the leader who poses with no shirt on and he represses people so he can seem all powerful. now he s being effective outmaneuvered by the west, and it s not just the west, it s the whole world. look at all the asian tech companies that have trade blocks. and so the autocrat like putin
unhappiness. we see that many of the russian troops on the ground have had a nasty surprise. and so diplomacy is not the strong suit of somebody like putin, so we may have to go around that. well, putin is facing resistance from within. back at home thousands of russians have been arrested for protesting the invasion. we know at least three top russian officials are against the invasion. oligarchs are getting angry. could putin be brought down from within? should he be worried about a potential coup? i think so. i think it would take time to mobilize all of the because when you have a coup it means elites in many sectors, most obviously the armed forces but also industry, oligarchs in this case, have come to an agreement. now oligarchs are arguably the ones who have spoken out, are
being relied on less by putin. he s not consulting them as much which is maybe why they re speaking out. but you do need to build a consensus among elites that this is going to destroy the country, to have some kind of intervention, which in the past has led leaders to be forced into exile or thrown out by a coup. if history is our guide, is that the most likely scenario for a strongman like putin to be removed, to be taken down? it is. i would caution that this, again, would take a very long time, it could potentially, because russia is most fully realized institutionalized thievery since something like gadhafi and many influential russians have been part of the spoil system for a very long time. they are wedded to this regime.