Nuclear threat a year after the start of the war in Ukraine

For decades, in both the United States and the Soviet Union, children have been trained to withstand a possible attack. nuclear. A year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is this danger returning for new generations?

A few days after the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the mobilization of nuclear forces.

Washington called it “dangerous” and “irresponsible” and warned Moscow of “catastrophic consequences.”

Last October, US President Joe Biden said that for the first time since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the world was in danger of an apocalypse. nuclear.

But Russia continued to threaten, raising fears that Putin was ready to use nuclear weapons and thus provoke the apocalypse.

“We have not seen a public statement by the Russians about the state of combat readiness. nuclear high since the 1960s,” said Avril Haynes, U.S. Director of National Intelligence.

seconds to midnight

Russian officials tried to clarify their position by saying that the country would only use weapons nuclear when confronted with an “existential threat”.

In September, when Putin announced the annexation of four regions of Ukraine, the question arose: would an attack on them pose an “existential threat” to Russia?

Although there were no signs of mobilization. nuclear Russia, in January, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists published the Doomsday Clock symbolizing the end of the world. There were only 90 seconds left until midnight, which shows that, in his opinion, the death of mankind is closer than ever.

Russia’s thinly veiled threats to use weapons nuclear They remind the world that escalating conflict by accident, design or miscalculation is a terrible risk,” the Bulletin warned.

Gun control

The threat is connected not only with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The arms control agreements between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR) that eased Cold War tensions are dead or broken.

The decisive 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty collapsed in 2002. In 2019, the United States withdrew from the INF Treaty, which limited missiles capable of nuclear medium-range, stating that Russia is violating its obligations.

And last year, Washington accused Moscow of violating the 2011 New START treaty, which limits nuclear warheads.

“They don’t give security”

But ironically, says Pavel Podvig of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, Russian threats may have made the world a little safer by reminding new generations of that danger.

On the one hand, he said, Russia could calculate that it could quickly start and end a war against Ukraine Because they have nuclear weapons. But met with support Ukraine NATO and its powerful nuclear arsenal.

The conflict may even have helped to show that these weapons are “obsolete,” says Podvig, because, as Russia was able to see, “they don’t provide security.”

global returns

In addition, Podvig notes, world leaders, including Russia’s allies India and China, reacted negatively to Moscow’s warnings, creating the impression that the threat nuclear it’s taboo.

In September, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern.

In November, the G20, following a summit in Bali, Indonesia, where Russia participated, stated that the use or threat of use of weapons nuclear is “invalid”.

And the joint statement by Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at that summit is even more revealing, Podvig explains. In it, they agree, the researcher says, “that a nuclear war can never be fought and that it can never be won, and they emphasize their opposition to the use or threat of use of weapons.” nuclear V Ukraine”.

Washington also softened the speech, refraining from mentioning “catastrophic consequences.”

(According to AFP)

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