On Feb. 27, Vladimir Putin, a commander in chief with an estimated 1,588 deployed nuclear warheads and 2,889 in reserve at his disposal, issued an apocalyptic threat by putting Russia’s nuclear forces on alert and transferring “the deterrence forces of the Russian army to a special mode of combat duty.” It was the second ominous warning in one week from the Russian dictator, who faces no constraints on his decision-making. Earlier he had warned that any country that interfered with his war in Ukraine would face “consequences that you have never encountered in your history.”