Nuking Europe?

The Russian Czar has warned in unequivocal terms that the West will be on the receiving end if their meddling in Russian affairs is not stemmed. President Vladimir Putin, who is gearing up for another term in office, threatened to nuke Europe if they amassed their militaries in support of Ukraine. The warning was not tactical but he meant business, as he elucidated that his strategic nuclear forces are in a state of full readiness, and the new-generation hypersonic nuclear weapons are in the war module. Looking visibly perturbed and annoyed, he drew a leaf from history reminding the interventionist NATO states of Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte’s fate as they went over the brink to intrude inside Russia.

The two-year war in Ukraine has torpedoed the security and economic mosaic of Europe. As the EU and NATO keep on mulling a way out to push back Moscow from Kiev, they have burnt their fingers over the period of time. The inaction and indecisiveness of the United States to lead from the front has delivered a deadly blow to its leadership, and taken Ukraine for a ride at the cost of its very survival. This is why Washington and London were skeptical as Paris proposed marching inside Kiev with their armies to take on the Russians. It is worth questioning, then, why the US and its allies were so obsessed with invading Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as Vietnam, if they had to nurse a different standard over Ukraine!

This confrontation is certainly one of the deadliest since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and has all the elements to snowball into a world war and that too with nuclear conflagration. Amidst this warmongering, the only solace was Putin’s assurance that his country has no intention to walk over other European states. It seems he has closely browsed through the pages of history to articulate an opinion that the USSR’s misadventure in Afghanistan was a myopic decision. Yet, Putin is never lost on logic in taking on a pro ethno-lingual Ukraine. And this is where the plot thickens.