New Delhi: As the war escalates between Russia and Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday warned that if a Third World War breaks out, it would be a “devastating nuclear war”.
Zee News Editor-In-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary, in his show DNA, on Wednesday (March 2), analysed the strategy adopted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in this ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister’s statement on the possibility of a Third World War comes days after Putin ordered nuclear forces to be on high alert. Putin accused Western nations of taking "unfriendly" steps against his country. Notably, there are only 9 countries in the world that have nuclear weapons–Russia, USA, UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, North Korea– among which Russia has the biggest arsenal of nuclear power.
On Tuesday, Russia's nuclear submarines conducted war exercises in the Barents Sea, stoking concerns globally. Any such exercise carried out during a war is considered a sign of great danger. Nuclear weapons can be launched from all three modes– sky, land and water– and this recent exercise means that the Russian army is testing the readiness of its nuclear weapons.
The big question, however, is whether Putin would actually launch a nuclear attack on Ukraine?
We believe Putin is working on the strategy of escalation to de-escalation. This strategy entails making a conflict so dangerous suddenly that the world is forced to talk of peace. President Vladimir Putin is probably working on the same strategy. Russia is escalating the war currently and under this strategy, they may even allow the use of low-impact nuclear weapons because if nuclear weapons are used, then the big superpowers will be forced to negotiate peace with Russia.
Russia is escalating the war and when the war is at its peak, perhaps it will shift to the strategy of de-escalating.
Meanwhile, former Russian President and the deputy chair of Russia's security council Dmitry Medvedev warned today that the way America and Western countries are imposing economic sanctions on Russia, these decisions can make Russia more aggressive and lead to a new war.
