[The Hill] He said the world has heard Putin threaten to use nuclear weapons for the past decade, but the Russian president is not serious because he knows that even Russia’s allies, China and Iran, would turn against him.
"No one is going to support a Russia that uses nuclear weapons," Stavridis said.
He also said the annexation referendums in the Ukrainian territory that Russia has captured that Putin expressed support for in his speech are "nonsense" and no one will recognize the territories are part of Russia.
Stavridis additionally said Putin’s plan to implement a partial mobilization of up to 300,000 military reservists is flawed because "no one wants to be drafted."