Ljubljana - The newspaper Večer comments on the war in Ukraine and the referendums planned in four Russian-occupied regions, saying the referendums, although illegitimate, might be more effective than the nuclear weapons Russian President Vladimir Putin is hinting at using.

"Unlike the West, Putin will, of course, recognise the results of the referendums ... and Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson will become part of the Russian Federation."

This will mark a big symbolic milestone, as Russian soldiers will no longer be the invaders and aggressors but the defenders, the paper says under the headline Referendum-dum.

"This is all the more cunning because the military doctrine of the Russian Federation allows for the use of nuclear weapons if its territory is at stake."

Whether Putin uses it is a million rouble question. Common sense says no, "he is, after all, expanding the Russian Lebensraum". So the newly-freed areas should be appropriate for habitation.

However, Russians have already shown in this war that they do not care about living environment. The Azovstal battle in Mariupol has made the city and the sea uninhabitable for years if not decades due to toxic chemicals release.

It would be a whole different thing if Putin felt so threatened that he targetted Western capitals with nuclear missiles. But this would lead to a large part of humanity being wiped out.