Due to the immediate possible threat of nuclear war, no one is allowed to second guess any order to launch. There is not enough time to allow that second guess. That is why the President is the most powerful individual on the planet, and the same goes for Putin and Xi.
I think Putin would not be allowed to launch a peacetime nuclear war solely on his own, the men who actually do the launching would not comply.
The 2020 doctrine presents four scenarios which might justify the use of Russian nuclear weapons:
— the use of nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction against Russia or its allies;
— data showing the launch of ballistic missiles aimed at Russia or its allies;
— an attack on critical government or military sites that would undermine the country’s nuclear forces response actions;
— the use of conventional weapons against Russia “when the very existence of the state is in jeopardy”.
IF PUTIN GIVES THE NUCLEAR ORDER, WHAT HAPPENS?
The Russian General Staff has access to the launch codes and has two methods of launching nuclear warheads. It can send authorisation codes to individual weapons commanders, who would then execute the launch procedures. There is also a back-up system, known as Perimetr, which allows the General Staff to directly initiate the launch of land-based missiles, bypassing all the immediate command posts.