Exactly my point, he is using the Nukes as a deterrent and trying to play like he has little to lose if he is countered on this. But that is largely a bluff that can likely be called without too much worry of that for the simple fact that even if he lost this conflict, even if he lost his position, even if he lost his life, he still has something that should be worth more to him than that that he doesn't want to risk losing, his family.
The only realistic way you will see nukes being put on the table by Putin is if he has some progressive mental disease that deteriorates his ability to think or someone takes out his kids at which point he REALLY has nothing left to lose.