From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Russia invokes nuclear arsenal as deterrence against Western intervention in Ukraine
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A senior Russian official says the country’s nuclear arsenal should help deter the West from intervening in the war in Ukraine.
Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the state corporation Roscosmos, notes in televised remarks that the Russian nuclear stockpiles include tactical nuclear weapons along with the nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Rogozin points at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning to other countries not to meddle with the Russian action in Ukraine.
“The Russian Federation is capable of physically destroying any aggressor or any aggressor group within minutes at any distance,” Rogozin says.
Putin has warned the West that an attempt to introduce a no-fly zone over Ukraine will draw it into a conflict with Russia. Rogozin in his comments didn’t elaborate on what specific action by the West would be seen as meddling in the conflict.
Rogozin’s statement comes amid Western fears that Russia could use battlefield nuclear weapons against Ukraine amid the stalled Russian offensive.
US officials have long warned that Russia’s military doctrine envisages an “escalate to deescalate” option of using battlefield nuclear weapons to force the enemy to back down in a situation when Russian forces face an imminent defeat in a conventional conflict.
Moscow has denied having such designs.
The Times of Israel Community.