[ealgeone]

Why should NATO respond IF strike were confined to Ukraine?

[pierrem15]

First, fallout from any nuke attack will drift over NATO members. Second, the whole point of the military and financial assistance Ukraine has gotten is to disabuse Russia of the notion that it can wage successful wars of conquests in Europe. Punishing any use of WMD would be part of that effort at dissuasion.

In any case, whatever the response would be (if any) has already been decided at the Pentagon. With no real commander in chief, whatever contingency plan is in place will simply be implemented with little or no supervision by the fractured Dem factions of the junta controlling the political branches of the government.