Putin says he’s suspending Russia’s participation in New START, the last major nuclear arms control treaty.
Set the Doomsday Clock even closer to midnight … pic.twitter.com/LT9OLuYdom— Alec Luhn (@ASLuhn) February 21, 2023
The US government keeps claiming that Putin is both totally insane and that he is much too reasonable to ever use a nuke.
In fact, Russia continues to signal that they are totally ready to use a nuke, or perhaps many nukes, if the West continues to encroach on them.
President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday suspended Russian participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty with the United States, warning Washington that Russia had put new ground-based strategic nuclear weapons on combat duty.
Russia and the United States still have vast arsenals of nuclear weapons left over from the Cold War whose numbers are currently limited by the New START Treaty, which was agreed in 2010 and is due to expire in 2026.
“I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty,” Putin told his country’s political and military elite.
The Russian leader said that some people in Washington were thinking about resuming nuclear testing and that Russia’s defence ministry and nuclear corporation should therefore be ready to test Russian nuclear weapons if necessary.
“Of course, we will not do this first. But if the United States conducts tests, then we will. No one should have dangerous illusions that global strategic parity can be destroyed.”
“A week ago, I signed a decree on putting new ground-based strategic systems on combat duty. Are they going to stick their nose in there too, or what? And they think that everything is so simple? What, are we going to let them in there just like that?”
…
Putin announced the move during his annual state-of-the-nation speech in which he vowed to continue with Russia’s year-long war in Ukraine and accused the U.S.-led NATO alliance of fanning the flames of the conflict in the mistaken belief that it could defeat Moscow in a global confrontation.
A nuclear war would be funny, and I support it on that level, but seriously – it’s not really a very good idea.
“We are going to do as we please”
President Vladimir Putin says Russia will suspend its observation of the New START nuclear weapons treaty https://t.co/LREB74NPgi pic.twitter.com/fV1NTDRCLi
— Bloomberg (@business) February 21, 2023