Putin’s Threat To US, Ready To Use Nuclear Weapons If Russia In Danger

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President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia’s nuclear triad — its three-pronged arsenal of weapons launched from land, sea and air — was “much more” advanced than that of the United States.

“Our triad, the nuclear triad, it is more modern than any other triad. Only we and the Americans actually have such triads. And we have advanced much more here,” Putin said in an interview on state TV.

Putin’s nuclear war rhetoric
Putin said Moscow’s nuclear weapons are fully ready and “from the military-technical viewpoint, we’re prepared” to use them in case there’s a threat to “the existence of the Russian state, our sovereignty and independence,” according to The Associated Press.

The tough talk comes before a presidential election this week that Putin is almost assured of winning to give him another six-year term.
The Kremlin has touted Russia’s nuclear prowess throughout its two-year full-scale invasion of Ukraine, warning Western countries last month there was a “real” risk of nuclear catastrophe if they were to escalate the conflict by sending troops.

The West has accused Russia of reckless nuclear rhetoric since it launched its assault on Ukraine in February 2022.

Moscow is thought to possess over 5,000 nuclear warheads, the largest stockpile in the world.

Putin says NATO troops in Ukraine would “not change the situation”
In the same interview, Putin said Western countries sending troops to Ukraine wouldn’t change the situation on the battlefield.

“If we talk about official military contingents of foreign countries, I am sure it will not change the situation on the battlefield. That is the most important thing. Just as supplying arms does not change anything,” Putin said.

His comments came after French leader Emmanuel Macron last month declined to rule out putting boots on the ground, a significant shift in rhetoric as Ukraine struggles on the battlefield.

While Macron has since doubled down on his remarks, several of Ukraine’s allies — including Washington — have distanced themselves from the idea, which stunned many in Europe.
Ukraine has ceded ground to Russian forces in recent months as it faces a myriad of shortages, from artillery to air defenses, in part because a $60 billion aid package remains held up in the U.S. Congress.

In a stopgap effort to provide what aid it can, the Pentagon said Tuesday it will rush about $300 million in weapons to Ukraine after finding some cost savings in its contracts.

Prepare for Nuclear War
The world faces two existential threats: climate change, and nuclear Armageddon. Action on both is required urgently. Tackling the first will impose significant economic costs and lifestyle adjustments, while tackling the second will bring economic benefits without any lifestyle implications. Those who reject the first are derided as denialists; those dismissive of the second are praised as realists. Although action is needed now in order to keep the world on this side of the tipping point, a climate change-induced apocalypse will not occur until decades into the future. A nuclear catastrophe could destroy us at any time, although, if our luck holds out, it could be delayed for another six decades. The uncomfortable reality is that nuclear peace has been upheld, owing as much to good luck as to sound stewardship. Because we have learned to live with nuclear weapons for 66 years, we have become desensitized to the gravity and immediacy of the threat. The tyranny of complacency could yet exact a fearful price if we sleepwalk our way into a nuclear Armageddon. The time to lift the spectre of a mushroom cloud from the international body politic is long overdue.

Nuclear weapons are strategic equalizers for weaker sides in conflict relationships, but they do not buy defence on the cheap. They can lead to the creation of a national security state with a premium on governmental secretiveness, reduced public account- ability, and increased distance between citizens and Governments. There is the added risk of proliferation to extremist elements through leakage, theft, state collapse, and state capture. In terms of opportunity costs, heavy military expenditure amounts to stealing from the poor. Nuclear weapons do not help to combat today’s real threats of insurgency, terrorism, poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and corruption. As they said in the streets of Delhi in 1998: “No food, no clothing, no shelter? No worry, we have the bomb.”

Since the end of the Cold War, the risk of a Russia-United States nuclear war has diminished, but the prospect of nuclear weapons being used by other nuclear-armed states or non- state actors has become more plausible. As a result, we find ourselves at a familiar crossroads, confronting the same old choice between security in or from nuclear weapons.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has kept the nuclear nightmare at bay for over four decades. The number of countries with nuclear weapons is still in single figures. There has been substantial progress in reducing the number of nuclear warheads. However, the threat is still acute with a combined stockpile of more than 20,000 nuclear weapons; of these, 5,000 warheads are launch-ready and 2,000 are in a state of high operational alert.

The NPT enshrined multiple bargains. The non-nuclear countries agreed among themselves never to acquire nuclear weapons. They entered into a deal with the nuclear weapon states (NWS) whereby, in return for intrusive end-use con- trol over nuclear and nuclear-related technology and material, they were granted favoured access to nuclear technology, components, and material. The non-nuclear countries struck a second deal with the NWS by which, in return for forever forswearing the bomb, the NWS would pursue good faith negotiations for complete nuclear disarmament. Article 6 of the NPT is the only explicit multilateral disarmament commitment undertaken by all NWS.

Nuclear Explosion- An explosion with intense light and heat, a damaging pressure wave and widespread dispersion of radioactive material that can contaminate the air, water, and ground surfaces for miles around. A nuclear device can range from a large weapon carried by a missile to a small portable nuclear device transported by an individual.

Nuclear Fallout – Minute particles of radioactive debris that descend slowly from the atmosphere after a nuclear explosion.1
Radiation – Radiation is energy that comes from a source and travels at the speed of light. This energy has an electric field and a magnetic field associated with it, and has wave-like properties.

How to Survive Nuclear Fallout
Three factors for protecting yourself from radiation and fallout are distance, shielding and time:
Distance – The more distance between you and the fallout particles, the better. An underground area such as a home or office building basement offers more protection than the first floor of a building.
Shielding – The heavier and denser the materials – thick walls, concrete, bricks, books and earth – between you and the fallout particles, the better.
Time – Fallout radiation loses its intensity fairly rapidly. In time, you will be able to leave the fallout shelter. Radioactive fallout poses the greatest threat to people during the first two weeks, by which time it has declined to about 1 percent of its initial radiation level.
Before a Nuclear Explosion

The following are things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your property in the event of a nuclear blast:
Build an Emergency Preparedness Kit
Make a Family Disaster Plan
Find out from officials if any public buildings in your community have been designated as fallout shelters. If your community has no designated fallout shelters, make a list of potential shelters near your home, workplace and school. Potential shelters can be places such as basements, subways, tunnels, or the windowless center area of middle floors in a high-rise building.
There are multiple options in which the public will receive a notification about a Nuclear or Radiation Emergency. It is crucial that the public seek out and obtain beforehand the best means for immediate notification in their community.