US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the Russian army does not have sufficient capabilities to effectively confront the United States of America in a conventional war, and in the event of escalation, the Kremlin would likely resort to tactical nuclear weapons. At the same time, he emphasized that even considering such a scenario is unacceptable. Rubio said this on Fox News, as reported by UNN.
When asked if he believed Russia was capable of confronting America militarily, the Secretary of State replied that the Russians are not very skilled fighters and would most likely rely on nuclear weapons.
Since the Russians are not very good at conventional weaponry, they would almost inevitably have to rely on some other means, such as tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield, to escalate the situation in an attempt to de-escalate the conflict. But we shouldn't even think about it.