Putin Has Unleashed a New Age of Nuclear Proliferation
In the 1990s Ukraine ditched its nukes in return for Russian guarantees of territorial integrity. By breaking that deal, Vladimir Putin has increased the risk of nuclear war.
Readying his nukes.
Photographer: Alexey Nikolsky/AFP via Getty Images
There are many ways in which Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the world a more dangerous, brutish and frightening place. One is by raising the potential for nuclear Armageddon. Two scenarios stand out. The first involves the short term; the other, the long.
In the short term, we’re all hoping his latest nuclear threat is just a bluff. During the rant announcing his attack on Ukraine, Putin sent this not-too-subtle message to the West: Try to stop me and “you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history. [...] I hope you hear me.” A couple of days later he ordered his country’s nuclear forces to adopt “special combat readiness.”