[CRConrad]

>>> Nothing - as in literally nothing - is worth seriously risking nuclear conflict.

> If the risk is too high, no it is not

Which shows why your original statement was wrong: It depends on how high the risk is. If the risk is low enough, it may be worth taking.

Remains only to find out exactly how high it is... Which becomes, AFAICS, an investigation into the psyche of Vladimir Putin.

[archagon]

Maybe I was unclear. This is why I used the phrasing "seriously risking".

[CRConrad]

So "serious" = "high"? Yeah, then of course I agree. The trouble is only determining is the risk high/serious or not.

On the whole, I lean towards Putin not being quite that crazy -- and hey, remember that even the Soviet Union had that ultimate safeguard, officers willing to disobey orders -- so it shouldn't be all that high. But it's hard to say for sure.