Western countries considered the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons, overestimating the level of support from China for the Kremlin, states former head of US Central Command and former commander of Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus. According to Petraeus, at the start of the war, the US had legitimate concerns about the potential use of nuclear weapons by Russia. The Kremlin was warned that any use of tactical nuclear weapons would destroy Russia’s Black Sea fleet. “However, we later saw the limits of China’s support for Russia. Eventually, Xi (Chinese President …