Nuclear Armageddon Risk

On October 6, 2022 President Biden announced that the possibility of nuclear armageddon with Russia is closer than we think. President Biden announced at a Democratic Fundraiser in New York that if things proceed as they are, we face a direct threat of using a nuclear bomb for the first time since the Cuban missile crisis. While his aides at the National Security Council, the State Department, and the Pentagon have spoken in much more restrained terms, It is unusual that the President would speak so frankly and mention Armageddon, especially at a fundraiser, indicating that they take the threats seriously but don’t see any movement on them from the Kremlin.

Putin reinforced the nuclear threats he previously voiced at the start of Russia’s assault last month. According to ABC News, In a televised national address, the Russian president declared, “We will unquestionably employ all means at our disposal to safeguard Russia and our people if the territorial integrity of our country is challenged.” Putin delivered his warning as he announced the mobilization of 300,000 Russian troops following significant defeats sustained by his military forces in the Ukraine. This week, Kiev’s forces advanced in the country’s east and south, posing a serious threat to a significant new advance and compelling Putin’s troops to withdraw from land he claimed to have annexed in a big ceremony the previous week. There is growing concern that he may be inclined to escalate further rather than concede defeat as a result of those defeats and the chaotic mobilization at home. In a video speech on Friday, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that during the most recent battle, Ukraine liberated a total of 2,434 square kilometers in the country’s east, of which 776 kilometers were retaken in the past week alone. Moscow denounced Zelensky’s remarks on Thursday, in which he advocated for NATO to carry out preemptive strikes to prevent Russia from using nuclear weapons.

If Russia were to use a nuclear weapon, the US and its allies would be faced with a difficult decision regarding how to react. In order to avoid a rapid escalation, the mass of analysts and former officials feel that if Washington launched military force, it would most likely do so with conventional weapons. to an all-out nuclear war. Putin, according to US intelligence agencies, has come to understand loss in Ukraine as an existential threat to his regime, which he associates with an existential threat to Russia.This may potentially authorize the usage of nuclear weapons in his perspective. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, remarked earlier on Thursday that Putin was conscious that a nuclear attack by Russia will be “never forgiven” by the rest of the world.