At the battle of Stirling Bridge, 11 September 1297, the movie Braveheart has William Wallace provoking the English to battle, saying "Here are Scotland's terms. Lower your flags, and march straight back to England, stopping at every home to beg forgiveness for 100 years of theft, rape, and murder. Do that and your men shall live. Do it not, and every one of you will die today. ... Before we let you leave, your commander must cross that field, present himself before this army, put his head between his legs, and kiss his own ass."
Putin's Nuclear Crisis - December 2024
Russian Ambassador to London Andrey Kelin: ”The United Kingdom’s policy of supplying Kiev with long-range missiles is fraught with the risk of nuclear powers colliding... I would like to note that the British have completely ignored all our warnings and opted for escalatory actions to further worsen the Ukrainian crisis. And, naturally, this is fraught with bigger strategic risks, and, in the worst case scenario, even a confrontation between nuclear powers”.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has given an exclusive interview to conservative American journalist Tucker Carlson 05 Decembe 2024. "We hate even to think about war with the United States, which will take nuclear character. Our military doctrine says that the most important thing is to avoid a nuclear war. And it was us, by the way, who initiated in January 2022 the message, the joint statement by the leaders of the five permanent members of the Security Council saying that we will do anything to avoid confrontation between us, acknowledging and respecting each other’s security interests and concerns. This was our initiative.....
"John Kirby, who is the White House communications coordinator, was answering questions about escalation and about possibility of nuclear weapons being employed. And he said, “Oh, no, we don’t want escalation because then if there is some nuclear element, then our European allies would suffer.” So even mentally, he excludes that the United States can suffer. And this is something which makes the situation a bit risky. It might – if this mentality prevails, then some reckless steps would be taken, and this is bad.... professionals in deterrence, nuclear deterrence policy, they know very well that it’s a very dangerous game. And to speak about limited exchange of nuclear strikes is an invitation to disaster, which we don’t want to have."
Christian Dürr, a member of Germany’s Free Democratic Party (FDP), cautioned 08 December 2024 against “indirectly conceding to Russian narratives” about the risk of nuclear war. Dürr’s remarks came during a renewed call to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles. He criticized the notion that providing long-range weaponry could provoke nuclear conflict in Europe, labeling it a “narrative of Vladimir Putin.” During his address to the Bundestag, Dürr emphasized the need to reject fear-based arguments propagated by Russia, reaffirming Germany’s commitment to supporting Ukraine’s defense.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously noted ongoing disagreements with Chancellor Olaf Scholz regarding the provision of Taurus missiles but stressed efforts to bridge these differences. Despite pressure, Germany has consistently resisted transferring these weapons, even after the UK, France, and the US supplied Ukraine with long-range armaments.
Once there is a sufficient amount of Oreshnik missiles, Russia will no longer consider the use of nuclear weapons, President Vladimir Putin said, 10 December 2024, addressing a meeting of the Council on Civil Society and Human Rights. "We are improving our nuclear doctrine, not tightening it. Basically, now, we need to improve the Oreshnik missile, not the nuclear doctrine," Putin noted. "If we take a closer look, a sufficient amount of these cutting-edge weapon systems will actually eliminate the need for the use of nuclear weapons," he explained.
This is why, in Putin’s words, Russia behaves with caution and even restraint in all areas. "However, the government shows its will where it is necessary, as well as the country’s people who live here, who want their children to live here, who see Russia as their motherland and are ready to do everything to make it stronger," Putin concluded.
Putin at an extended meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Defense, which was held 16 December 2024 at the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation. "Certainly, strategic nuclear forces remain one of the key instruments for maintaining stability, protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia. We will continue to support their potential and balanced development, and work to create new systems and complexes of deterrent forces. Along with this, it is important to keep non-strategic nuclear forces in constant combat readiness, and continue the practice of conducting exercises to practice their use."
Sergey Ryabkov, Russian deputy foreign minister, stated 18 December 2024 that due to the increasingly reckless actions of the West, "tangible risks are being created that the situation will move to a state where the use of nuclear weapons may become a practice. The completely aggressive policy of the United States and NATO is aimed at destroying the external security contour of the Russian Federation and creates direct and clear threats for us on the borders of the Union State of Russia and Belarus."
Putin continued to fixate on the Russian "Oreshnik" ballistic missile as part of his non-nuclear deterrent aimed at simultaneously forcing the West to make decisions favorable to Russia, and providing Putin with an off-ramp from his failed nuclear saber-rattling narrative. Putin continues to fixate on the Russian "Oreshnik" ballistic missile as part of his non-nuclear deterrent aimed at simultaneously forcing the West to make decisions favorable to Russia and providing Putin with an off-ramp from his failed nuclear saber-rattling narrative.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on 29 December 2024 that since the United States has deployed such missiles around the world after withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Missile Treaty signed by the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, which banned the development and deployment of intermediate-range and short-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, Russia will also abandon its unilaterally announced policy of continuing to abide by restrictions on the deployment of intermediate-range and short-range ballistic missiles.
Russia's move was expected, but it would wipe out the last remnants of the most important arms control treaty reached between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, causing the world to worry that the two largest nuclear-armed countries in the world, the United States and Russia, plus China, would start a new large-scale arms race.
In response to a question from RIA Novosti about whether Russia would withdraw from the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between Russia and the United States, Lavrov said that the conditions for strategic dialogue with the United States "do not exist" at present. “It has become clear today that our moratorium on the deployment of short- and medium-range missiles, for example, no longer has any practical significance and must be abandoned,” Reuters quoted Lavrov as saying. "The United States arrogantly ignored the warnings of Russia and China and has actually deployed weapons of this level around the world," Lavrov added.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
