A less conventional, but potentially more effective, path is nuclear latency: giving Ukraine the ability to assemble nuclear weapons quickly if needed, without fully deploying them. The stability-instability paradox warns that latent nuclear power may deter total war while encouraging limited aggression at the conventional level. Nuclear latency cannot reclaim territory or coerce Russia into changing behavior. AdvertisementFor Ukraine, latent nuclear capability – backed by diplomacy, conventional defense, and economic resilience – could stabilize the conflict. Schelling’s heroic garrisons once aimed to deter by risking death; nuclear latency deters by making destruction unavoidable.