Half of Dutch people fear Russia will use nuclear weapons in war with Ukraine

Nearly half of Dutch people surveyed fear that Russia will use nuclear weapons in its war on Ukraine. Another third believe that Western European countries, including the Netherlands, could be impacted by these nuclear weapons, according to the NOS.

The survey of 2,638 Dutch people by I&O Research comes on the 60-year anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the United States and Soviet Union seem poised for nuclear war. The research shows there has been a significant increase in Dutch people who believe there is a chance Russian President Vladimir Putin will resort to nuclear weapons. However, the public is divided on what the consequences could be for the Netherlands.

A total of 84 percent said they were very or somewhat concerned about the war in Ukraine and 37 percent think it is likely that Putin will use nuclear weapons. These concerns could be traced back to the recent airstrikes on Kyiv and a speech where Putin alluded to using "all the means at our disposal" in the war, I&O researchers told the NOS.

Three quarters of those surveyed thought Ukraine would be the target if Russia used nuclear weapons. Three quarters believed Western Europe could be a target, but only 12 percent expected it to be. Almost half of the population thought the Netherlands should invest further in defense than it does already.

If nuclear weapons are used, "according to current Russian doctrine, this will involve the use of smaller nuclear weapons on the battlefield," Leiden professor of international relations Rob de Wijk told the NOS. "And no large-scale attacks on cities such as those on our minds, such as Nagasaki and Hiroshima at the end of World War II."