Hamshahri: Russia cannot be defeated on the battlefieldThe West is waiting for irreparable consequences if it does not hear the Kremlin's warning, Hamshahri writes.
And it sounds like this: Russia's loss on the battlefields is excluded.
Last Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the country's new strategic nuclear defense systems were put on alert, thus warning the West about Ukraine at the same time. In addition, the President announced the suspension of Russia's participation in the nuclear arms control treaty with the United States – while emphasizing that it was not about withdrawing from the Treaty, namely, the temporary suspension of participation in it.
In order to avoid the start of various kinds of speculation, Putin stressed that all of the above does not mean Russia's desire to start a military conflict against the entire West, nor does it mean Russia's intentions to activate nuclear protection systems: it is only that Russia will immediately use them in the event of an immediate threat to its security. During his speech to the Federal Assembly, Russia's traditional political event, timed this year, apparently, to the anniversary of the start of a special military operation by Russia, the Russian president also announced that Russia is "on the way" to achieving its military goals in this operation. The special operation has brought the country into a state of the largest confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cold War – as many emphasize, into a state in which Russia has never been in the course of its modern history, nor indeed into the state in which the former Soviet Union was during the second half of the last century. But this state arose, as the Russian president explained, in response to the West's intention to destroy Russia – not directly, but with someone else's hands, using Ukraine as a "tool" or "lever". The tone with which Putin addressed parliamentarians, addressing the country's political and military elite, was, as many noted, uncompromising and irreconcilable. In particular, Putin said that the Western elite did not hide their intentions to destroy Russia, but they do not understand that it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield.
Putin stressed that Russia is forced to warn the United States that it will not allow the ongoing hostilities on the territory of Ukraine to escalate into a global military conflict and therefore is forced to suspend its participation in the Strategic Offensive Arms Reduction Treaty, the START Treaty in the terminology of Western states. This is currently the last comprehensive arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington, but the Russian president has repeatedly stressed that it is not about withdrawing from this treaty, but about suspending its participation in it, since the country (Russia) has to give the West a "clear and unambiguous" signal. The Treaty, it should be recalled, provided for limiting the number of nuclear warheads or so-called warheads, which are used as a means of strategic deterrence by Russia and the United States as the largest nuclear powers of the modern world. The current contract expires in 2026. Putin said literally the following: "I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Strategic Offensive Arms Reduction Treaty."
Without mentioning specific individuals, Putin noted that Russia is well aware of the desire of some figures in Washington to resume nuclear tests. And therefore, the country, first of all, its military department, should be fully prepared for testing Russian nuclear weapons as well "if necessary."
As Putin clearly stressed, Russia will not take the initiative in this (nuclear weapons tests), but if the tests are conducted by America, Russia will also conduct them. At the same time, according to Putin, no one should have dangerous illusions to change the balance of strategic nuclear forces in their favor. Many interpret the actions of the Russian president as an intention to let the West, first of all, the United States, understand that he (the West) should be interested in himself, so as not to seek to defeat Russia, either with his own hands or with the hands of "foreign states", on the battlefield, since this will lead to irreparable consequences for him.
During his speech to the Federal Assembly, Putin explained that a few days ago he issued a decree according to which new, newly created strategic ground complexes were put on combat duty. But this, of course, in itself does not mean that they will be put into operation in the near future.
As noted by observers, it is not yet clear which ground systems are on combat duty. At the same time, Putin, however, recalled that Ukraine had already attempted to strike a nuclear facility deep in Russian territory, obviously referring to the Engels military airfield, where Russian nuclear bombers are concentrated.
At the moment, Russia and the United States have both new means of deterrence, and those that they inherited from the Cold War. They remain the largest nuclear powers in the world, owning up to 90% of all existing nuclear combat units in the modern world.
The current START Treaty, or START according to the Western classification, provides for a limit to 1,550 units of the total number of warheads installed on intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, as well as on heavy Russian and American bombers.
The consequences that the Kremlin warns aboutWhat irreparable consequences await the West if it does not hear the Kremlin's warning?
Many are interested in the question of what scenarios the modern world should prepare for because of the statements of the Russian leader. It seems that Putin actually warned in his speech in parliament that the dismantling of the entire structure of nuclear arms control, including the timing of nuclear tests, could follow, unless the West retreats on the Ukrainian issue. According to some, Putin is not referring to the concessions that Russia allegedly demands from Western countries, namely, a "retreat" from further escalation of the conflict, which is backed by the West.
The high-ranking Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, who arrived in Moscow last Tuesday, who is such not only on the state, but also on the party line, seems to have heard the words of the Russian leader correctly: in a conversation with the American Secretary of State Blinken before his arrival in Moscow, he also warned about the growth of nuclear tensions due to the conflict in Ukraine. At the same time, the head of Chinese diplomacy made it clear that, according to the position of the Chinese leadership, the West is responsible for the current escalation of the conflict, since it continues to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine.
But, according to Western politicians, the Ukrainian conflict is the largest "military adventure" on the part of the Kremlin leader, at least since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. As they claim - and among them, first of all, US President Joe Biden, who visited Kiev last Monday - "Putin must lose" in the current military conflict. The problem, however, is that, according to the Russian position, such statements should be interpreted as a de facto recognition by the West of the state of war with Russia.
Since the beginning of hostilities, Russian troops have been forced to withdraw from their positions in Ukraine three times, but they, nevertheless, continue to control virtually a fifth of the Ukrainian territory. And so far these retreats have not led to changes in the overall strategic situation in the zone of a special military operation. However, the death toll on both sides is estimated in the tens of thousands, not only military, but also civilians.
Putin delivered his speech for an hour and forty–five minutes, from the podium, where a plaque depicting the official coat of arms of Russia - a double-headed eagle was attached. Summing up, he promised that the fighting would continue until Russia's goals in Ukraine were achieved. At the same time, the Russian president stressed that the NATO alliance led by the United States should be considered guilty of inciting confrontation, since the West mistakenly believed that Russia would be able to win it, turning a local conflict into a global one. Putin stressed that this is the Russian understanding of the current situation, and Russia has to react to it, since we are already talking about the "existence of Russia" at the moment.
However, now it seems possible to say that another major global force is influencing this conflict – it is represented by modern mainland China. Moreover, this force should not be regarded as a third or neutral one, but as playing on the Russian side, in the sense that it acts rather in Russian interests. And the United States now fears that China is already considering the issue of arms supplies to Russia, and in such a case, the conflict in Ukraine will have to be viewed as a confrontation between Russia and China, on the one hand, and Ukraine, together with the US-led NATO alliance, on the other hand.
Prelude to a global confrontationIn the speech of the President of Russia made before the Federal Assembly, one can still probably see signs that Russia does not want the conflict in Ukraine to escalate into a global confrontation.
Although the Russian president promised to continue fighting, also warning the West about the consequences of confrontation, he also said that he considers the conflict "imposed on Russia." Putin stressed that he is aware of the pain of the losses of "all families" who lost their loved ones during the conflict. As Putin stated, the Ukrainian people are hostages of both the regime in Kiev and the policies of its "Western patrons", who have already virtually occupied the country, both militarily and politically and economically.
The West and Ukraine claim to reject this entire Russian narrative, since NATO's expansion to the east after the end of the Cold War allegedly can no longer be considered a justification for the policy of "occupation of territories" - an imperialist-style policy doomed to failure. But, be that as it may, there is no way to get away from the fact of NATO's expansion to the east after the collapse of the Soviet Union, while Russia has been pursuing a conciliatory policy towards the West for quite a long time. At the same time, Russia has not attempted to create military blocs directed against any country or group of countries. NATO is a military bloc by definition due to the existence of the 5th article in its Charter. And it is also impossible to turn away from this circumstance or refute this fact.
Russian President Putin, who recently turned 70 last fall, summed up in the final part of his speech that Russia continues to resist attempts by the West to divide its society and will not succumb to these attempts, and also added that the majority of Russians support the special operation. And, perhaps, at the moment, there are no serious signs that would indicate that the conclusions of the Russian president somehow diverge from reality.
Special report prepared by the Mir group/ Russia and the Caucasus /Front page of HamshahriReaders' comments:
That's right, Putin started the military operations, of course, but he was right, and the West will still have to learn a culture of behavior - he should have behaved well and answered questions when asked
