{"id":1655922,"date":"2022-09-24T07:38:53","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T11:38:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1655922"},"modified":"2022-09-24T07:39:20","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T11:39:20","slug":"how-the-ukraine-war-could-become-a-nuclear-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-the-ukraine-war-could-become-a-nuclear-war\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Ukraine War Could Become a Nuclear War"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-the-ukraine-war-could-become-a-nuclear-war%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1655922&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><span>On August 6 and 9, 1945, the world crossed the nuclear threshold when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osti.gov\/opennet\/manhattan-project-history\/Events\/1945\/hiroshima.htm\"><span>Hiroshima<\/span><\/a><span> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osti.gov\/opennet\/manhattan-project-history\/Events\/1945\/nagasaki.htm\"><span>Nagasaki<\/span><\/a><span>. The blasts wiped out <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atomicarchive.com\/resources\/documents\/med\/med_chp10.html\"><span>over 100,000 people<\/span><\/a><span> nearly instantly, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thebulletin.org\/2020\/08\/counting-the-dead-at-hiroshima-and-nagasaki\/\"><span>thousands more<\/span><\/a><span> over time. With some of today\u2019s nuclear bombs carrying scores or hundreds of times more destructive power than the 1945 versions, it should be alarming to every American how casually both the Russian and Western leaders are talking about deploying <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/09\/would-putin-really-use-nuclear-weapons-in-ukraine-no-one-knows\/\">nuclear weapons<\/a> today.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n[embedded content]\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>(Check out <em>19FortyFive<\/em> Contributing Editor and author of this piece, retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Daniel L. Davis, discussing the situation in Ukraine.)\u00a0<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p><b>Ongoing Aggression Against Ukraine<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Last February Russian forces <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/02\/russias-invasion-of-ukraine-not-going-to-plan\/\"><span>invaded Ukraine<\/span><\/a><span> and began a \u201cspecial military operation\u201d that has already claimed <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/08\/24\/world\/europe\/russia-ukraine-war-toll.html\"><span>tens of thousands<\/span><\/a><span> of lives. Ukrainians naturally <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/03\/07\/world\/europe\/ukraine-putin-hate.html\"><span>despise the Russians<\/span><\/a><span> and aggressively seek help from any and all Western sources to help drive the invaders out. Understanding Ukrainian anger, however, justified we may feel it is, does not mean the United States should give Kyiv everything it requests, especially if providing such support results in an elevated risk to U.S. national security. We are getting dangerously close to that point now.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>In response to meaningful battlefield losses by Russia earlier this month in the Kharkiv region, Russian President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/09\/vladimir-putin-is-in-serious-trouble\/\">Vladimir Putin<\/a> announced this week a partial mobilization of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/show\/putin-doubles-down-on-war-in-ukraine-calls-up-300000-russian-troops-to-escalate-conflict\"><span>300,000 reservists<\/span><\/a><span>. The reaction from Kyiv and the West was understandable and immediate: Ukrainian President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/09\/give-ukraines-volodymyr-zelensky-the-nobel-peace-prize\/\">Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> defiantly declared that his forces would continue to fight, no matter how many Russian forces Putin threw into the battle, and that Russia <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2022\/09\/21\/ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelenskyy-speaks-at-un-general-assembly.html\"><span>should be punished<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Putin\u2019s Russia Continues Advances Rhetoric<\/b>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>In response to Putin\u2019s mobilization, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/09\/putin-should-know-this-nato-also-has-nuclear-weapons-sort-of\/\">NATO<\/a> Secretary General <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/international\/3654020-nato-chief-says-putin-has-made-big-miscalculation-following-troop-announcement\/\"><span>Jens Stoltenberg said<\/span><\/a><span> the \u201c<\/span><span>only way to end this war is to prove that President Putin will not win on the battlefield.\u201d French President Emmanuel Macron argued the West should put \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uk.news.yahoo.com\/russia-face-further-un-pressure-073541978.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKSpksnbbJz58sHxtyrGWTO5L6tW6um513kJyDcqtJLTIWslGE03-2nVP4nB6TZanU6CaWnWAvfbD6b6md3s3DgRG_-5cpQpIcG4GYs6f_CX6Y8OTqhYsk66ugIyu-Utj5kZX8yO9us0OJsuokLwCboaldUMGZt85WCVyiOjlOs-\"><span>maximum pressure<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d on Putin, while new British Prime Minister <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SkyNews\/status\/1572871272199065601?s=20&amp;t=dYhHWqytYLQrFTmM0tuCfA\"><span>Liz Truss pledged<\/span><\/a><span> the U.K. would \u201c<\/span><span>sustain or increase our military support to Ukraine for as long as it takes\u201d to defeat Russia. Putin\u2019s reaction to the cumulative Western rebukes was swift and alarming.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Putin <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/putin-makes-nuclear-threat-to-the-west-as-military-mobilization-announced\"><span>warned the West<\/span><\/a><span> in a televised speech that if the \u201c<\/span><span>territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will use all available means to protect our people,\u201d strongly implying the use of nuclear weapons, adding: \u201cThis is not a bluff.<\/span><span>\u201d Retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/putin-nuclear-weapon-us-ukraine-b2172213.html\"><span>fired back<\/span><\/a><span> that if Putin took such action, the United States could, for example, destroy Russia\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/06\/ukraine-fires-harpoon-missiles-to-sink-russian-vessel-in-black-sea\/\">Black Sea fleet<\/a> or bases in \u201ca devastating (nuclear) strike.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>Not to be outdone, <\/span><span>Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to Zelensky, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/volodymyr-zelensky-ukraine-aide-says-us-needs-threaten-russia-nuclear-strike-1745099\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span> if Russia \u201ceven thinks about\u201d a nuclear strike, the West should launch \u201cswift retaliatory nuclear strikes to destroy the nuclear launch sites in Russia.\u201d And rounding out the warnings, former Russian President <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2022\/9\/22\/russia-can-defend-new-regions-with-nuclear-weapons-medvedev-says\"><span>Dmitry Medvedev<\/span><\/a><span> pledged that in addition to mobilizing Russian troops, Moscow was willing to employ \u201c<\/span><span>any Russian weapons, including strategic nuclear weapons\u201d to protect the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2022\/sep\/20\/four-occupied-ukraine-regions-plan-votes-on-joining-russian-federation\"><span>four regions<\/span><\/a><span> in Ukraine Russia plans to annex as soon as next week.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><b>Nuclear Threat is Terrifying<\/b>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>I completely understand the desire of all parties to want to sound tough, and I definitely get that Kyiv hates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/09\/atacms-f-16-fighters-and-tanks-ukraine-has-a-wishlist-to-fight-russia\/\">Russia<\/a> and wants to drive Putin\u2019s forces from Ukrainian territory. But I worry we have gotten too far from August 1945 and have lost our healthy fear of what a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Z3RzNEzJyzo&amp;t=46s\"><span>single modern nuclear weapon<\/span><\/a><span> can do. The destructive power of today\u2019s nuclear weapons, especially those in Russia and the United States, is hundreds of times <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.livescience.com\/most-powerful-nuclear-explosions\"><span>more powerful<\/span><\/a><span> than the bombs that fell on Japan in 1945. If the situation surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war erupted into a nuclear exchange \u2013 no matter how it happened or who started it \u2013 it could be more catastrophic than anyone might imagine.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_46241\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-46241\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Russian tank firing main gun. Image Credit: Creative Commons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>But someone has imagined it, and the results are terrifying. <em>19FortyFive<\/em> Senior Editor and Rogue States President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/author\/harrykazianis\/\">Harry Kazianis<\/a> published an analysis earlier this year about a simulation he participated in back in 2019 that looked at a hypothetical war between NATO and Russia (frighteningly, which was spawned over a Russia-Ukraine war gone sideways). Kazianis said the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/03\/04\/nato-involvement-in-ukraine-could-spark-nuclear-genocide-heres-how-it-could-happen\/\"><span>simulation revealed<\/span><\/a><span> the \u201c<\/span><span>NATO-Russia War of 2019, we estimated one billion people died.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>Too few people believe such an outcome is possible. W<\/span><span>e would recognize the danger, some delude themselves into believing, and we would avoid the abyss before destroying ourselves. That is a dangerous and unfounded belief. Human history is replete with far too many examples of leaders making foolish decisions and taking actions that a sober mind would have rejected.\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>The reality is the world has to deal with the ferocious war burning in Ukraine, and there is no easy way out of it. Escalation has just been taken, and likely more is yet to come. But Russia, Ukraine, the United States, and NATO must \u2013 for the sake of the entire human race \u2013 stop making casual nuclear threats and retorts, and commit that no matter what, no party will use nuclear weapons. If our leaders remain blind to the risk and use them anyway, the result could be the end of the world as we know it.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>And it won\u2019t matter who started it. We will all lose.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><i><span>Now a 1945 Contributing Editor,\u00a0<\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensepriorities.org\/media\/profile\/daniel-davis\"><i><span>Daniel L. Davis<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>\u00a0is a Senior Fellow for Defense Priorities and a former Lt. Col. in the U.S. Army who deployed into combat zones four times. He is the author of \u201c<\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B08KHGDQRK\"><i><span>The Eleventh Hour<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>\u00a0in 2020 America.\u201d Follow him @DanielLDavis<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On August 6 and 9, 1945, the world crossed the nuclear threshold when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The blasts wiped out over 100,000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1442274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1655922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1655922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1655922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1655922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1442274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1655922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1655922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1655922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}