Russian nuclear attack on Ukraine unlikely - NATO Chief

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
5 Nov 2022 23:03

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says that the chance of a Russian nuclear attack on Ukraine is small but NATO is taking the issue seriously

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gives a press conference after Russia declared the annexation of four occupied Ukrainian regions on Sept. 30, 2022

The possibility that Russia will use nuclear weapons in Ukraine is low however NATO is approaching the matter seriously stated NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Saturday to the Turkish NTV media outlet as he condemned what he described as the "irresponsible" and "dangerous" behavior of Russia.

Stoltenberg stressed that in case of a nuclear attack, the ramifications would be disastrous and that there are no winning parties in a nuclear war, adding that Russia did not change its position on using nuclear weapons.

Earlier in the week, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement where it said that Russia's policy in nuclear deterrence was guided by the postulate of the inadmissibility of a nuclear war in which there could be no winners.

The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement urging the 'Nuclear five' states to cease provocations with the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and that Russian nuclear policy is driven by the postulate on the inadmissibility of nuclear warfare.

The statement also stressed that In the current geopolitical context, wherein Russia's national security happens to be the target of ongoing threats from the West, the main goal is to prevent the outbreak of a full-scale military clash among nuclear powers.

Over the past few months, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin have repeatedly stressed that the use of nuclear warfare would amount to nothing but massive human and material losses.

"There can be no winners in a nuclear war and it must never be unleashed," said Putin on August 1 in an address to the Tenth Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia had never said anything "proactively" regarding its use of nuclear weapons, noting that speculations about Moscow's alleged nuclear threats were used by the West to influence countries that have a more friendly attitude toward Russia.