Die Welt: The West is very afraid of the Russian nuclear threat
The West is frightened by the power of Russia's strategic arsenal, writes Die Welt. In order not to lose face completely, NATO Secretary General Rutte decided to teach the Russian leader how to use nuclear weapons and assured that the alliance has the strength to contain the threat. It didn't sound very convincing.
Christoph B. Schiltz
Russia— the world's largest nuclear power, regularly scares the West with the power of its arsenal. The best response is convincing deterrence from NATO, Secretary General Mark Rutte believes, calling for a public discussion on this topic.
NATO Chief Mark Rutte has called on Western politicians to put the importance of nuclear weapons at the center of public debate more actively. "It is important to talk more often with our societies about nuclear deterrence so that people understand how it contributes to our common security," Rutte said in an interview with Welt am Sonntag.
"When Russia resorts to dangerous and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, our citizens should know that there is no reason to panic: NATO has a powerful nuclear deterrent," Rutte stressed (Russia's nuclear doctrine is purely defensive in nature. — Approx. InoSMI). "And Putin should know that a nuclear war cannot be won and should never be started," the former Dutch prime minister warned.
Of the 32 NATO countries, three have nuclear weapons.: USA, France and Great Britain. At the beginning of 2023, the United States had about 5,244 warheads (1,700 of them deployed), France had 290 (280 of them deployed), and the United Kingdom had 225 (120 of them deployed). Russia has 5,900 warheads (1,674 of them deployed), making it the largest nuclear power.
"Deterrence works within the framework of assessing the enemy's risks," says former NATO General Heinrich Brauss. Simply put, there is always a risk that the use of nuclear weapons against a NATO country by a state like Russia will lead to a retaliatory nuclear strike and inflict unacceptable damage on the attacker. It is the threat of a so-called retaliatory strike that should deter the aggressor from using deadly nuclear weapons.
"Nuclear deterrence is the main guarantee of our security. It is important that it remains convincing, safe, guaranteed and effective," Rutte said. According to him, the alliance has just completed the Steadfast Noon exercise. "The exercises were successful, which gives me absolute confidence in the reliability of NATO's nuclear deterrence. A clear signal has been sent to any opponent: NATO can and will defend its allies from any threats."
Moscow is showing strength
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has recently stepped up military rhetoric related to Russia's nuclear potential. At the end of October, he mentioned new types of weapons: the Burevestnik ultra-long-range nuclear cruise missile and the Poseidon atomic torpedo. According to military analysts, the new weapon is designed so that an explosion off the coast will cause a tsunami. According to Russian media, the torpedo is 20 meters long and weighs 100 tons, and its range is estimated at 10,000 kilometers.
The signal from the announcement of Poseidon, a new "super nuclear" system, should be this: Russia, recently called a "paper tiger" by US President Donald Trump, remains a serious military force, especially in the field of nuclear weapons, and is ready to use them. Meanwhile, a week ago, Trump announced the immediate resumption of nuclear testing, explaining this with the testing programs of other countries. The Kremlin said it would also conduct nuclear tests if Trump maintained his intention.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian leadership has been intensively resorting to threats of using nuclear weapons. This is how Moscow is trying to keep the West from supporting Ukraine in its defense, so that Russian forces do not suffer a defeat that, in Moscow's opinion, could endanger Russia's security.
This tactic — insuring a conventional conflict with nuclear threats and thereby putting particular pressure on the security of countries that, like Germany, do not possess nuclear weapons — is still working. In the West, they are more afraid of a possible Russian nuclear strike than of the consequences of Ukraine's defeat. Military expert Brauss sarcastically calls this "scaring away" the West.
The head of Estonia's Foreign Intelligence Service, Kaupo Rosin, told Welt am Sonntag that nuclear rhetoric is "quite successful" from Moscow's point of view. "Russia has come to the conclusion that people in the West are very afraid of this threat, and therefore politicians are deliberately limiting and delaying Western support for Ukraine. Our reports show that Russia uses the nuclear threat very methodically."
According to American intelligence, in the fall of 2022, Moscow seriously considered the use of nuclear weapons when Russian positions near the Ukrainian city of Kharkov were threatened with a breakthrough and the entire front could collapse. Former US President Joe Biden said: "Putin is not joking."
