He's such a blowhard, tool. He seems to be saying NATO doesn't already have planned responses ready to implement in such a situation. If he's hoping to intimidate little Vlad, he's wasting his time. All he's apt to accomplish is to rally Russians around Putin and embolden him even further.
Actually, this wishful thinking and ignorance are real problems of the Western military and political leadership. Especially if we are talking about the current - corrupted and incompetent Administration.
Putin has changed all the rules now and the world is a much more dangerous place. For the first time since the proliferation of nukes, we have a world leader threatening to use them as a response to a conventional conflict. How do we go back to where we were again? He presided over the dismantling of the nation he supposedly cherished and has often spoken of rebuilding that empire. He had to bow to the reality that Russia alone will never be able to have parity with NATO. His solution was to stock up on modern, low yield devices he could use to create some shock and awe and force a negotiated settlement AFTER Russia had the gains they wanted.
Actually, no. Back in fifties 'Nuclear Tripware' was an official strategy of the USA. And there were plenty of military thinkers suggesting to use it even in the peripheral Asiatic wars.
We successfully descended through Cuban Missile Crisis to the safety level of the Korean war, with the little difference - now the Russians believe that they are nuclear upperdogs and NATO's 'proxy forces' (AFU) attack directly Russian people.
So, after fifties we are going directly in forties. You know:
Can we win WWIII now? I very doubt.
Now, that policy is shown to be a dangerous fantasy and he realizes he has NOTHING ELSE. If his military or his Oligarch cronies try to assassinate him and they miss, he might very well order a 5-10 KT airburst to take out a Ukrainian or even a Polish or Baltic city as a warning that he's willing to do whatever it takes to survive. The question is, what would we do in response?
The answer is that right now we can do nothing. We have no ability to fight and win a Local Nuclear War, and we have no the Credible First Strike Capability (capability of decreasing the Russian potentional retaliation strike to 'acceptable' levels). So, the choice will be simple:
a) give up Ukraine, and may be, Eastern Europe;
b) commite murder-suicide.
Actually it's not a choice, and the Russians know it.
What we really need to do now - is to save US economy, improve nuclear forces and wait for the better opportunity.