Nuclear experts and world leaders call this the most significant nuclear threat since the Cold War. US President Joe Biden says that this is the closest we’ve come to a “nuclear Armageddon” since the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently signed agreements annexing the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson into Russia. This was done after a Russian-led vote, considered a sham by most, supported the annexation referendum, similar to the Crimean Peninsula annexation of 2014, which has never been internationally recognized and initiated sanctions against Russia. Russian officials have forcefully insisted that they will use whatever means necessary to protect the newly annexed “Russian territories.” Many interpret that as they will resort to nuclear weapons to defend and reinforce these new boundaries. Last month, Putin said the Kremlin would “certainly use all the means at our disposal” to protect the county.
On Monday, NATO issued an intelligence report stating that Russia was preparing to test nuclear torpedo-firing drones near the Ukrainian border. A military train that belongs to the forces responsible for Russia’s nuclear arsenal has been spotted moving toward the front lines in Ukraine. The freight train included armored personnel carriers belonging to the 12th Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense, responsible for supervising the country’s nuclear arsenal. . At the same time, Moscow was said to have deployed the world’s largest submarine — capable of carrying “apocalypse” drones.
Is Putin bluffing, or should this show of force be taken seriously? According to Alexander Kmentt, director for disarmament, arms control, and nonproliferation with the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we need to take the threat seriously. “The nuclear risk, is it as bad as during the Cold War? The answer is yes. In the Cold War, we had two nuclear interests trying to deter one another. We have several potential nuclear flashpoints now. … The latest iteration of those risks, issued by Russia, is just completely beyond the pale.” Last weekend, former CIA Director David Petraeus suggested that the US and fellow NATO countries would “destroy Russian forces and sink the Black Sea fleet” if Putin utilized any nuclear weapon in Ukraine.” We would respond by leading a NATO — a collective — effort that would take out every Russian conventional force that we can see and identify on the battlefield in Ukraine and also in Crimea and every ship in the Black Sea,” he said. Petraeus closed by saying that we must take this threat seriously regardless of how Putin is faring in the battle in Ukraine.
