Putin's Nuclear Crisis - July 2022

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev strongly warned the Western states against attempts at "punishing" the country over its ongoing military operation in neighboring Ukraine. "The idea to punish a country that has the largest nuclear arsenal is absurd in and of itself," Medvedev said on the Telegram messaging app on 06 July 2022. The remarks were made in reference to a bid by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to punish Moscow over what the tribunal alleges to be potential crimes in the former Soviet republic.

The move to penalize Russia "potentially creates a threat to the existence of mankind," Medvedev warned, pointing to the likelihood of a nuclear conflict. Presently serving as the deputy head of Russia's Security Council, Medvedev blasted the United States for seeking to put Moscow in front of international tribunals, while evading punishment for its own wars which, according to him, have caused 20 million deaths worldwide. "The whole of American history, starting from the suppression of the Indians, is bloody wars of annihilation," said the 56-year-old ally of Putin.

On 08 July 2022 the Russian navy received the first submarine Belgorod which is designed to carry Poseidon nuclear-powered underwater drones.According to a previous TASS report, the Poseidon drone is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead with a yield of up to 2 megatons to destroy enemy naval bases. It can travel fast in an intercontinental range with an operational depth of over 1 km.

On 09 July 2022, <a href="https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-ato/3566162-ak-zabezpeciti-voennu-kampaniu-u-2023-roci-ukrainskij-poglad.html">Valery Zaluzhnyi</a>, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, member of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, general, and Mykhailo Zabrodskyi, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, Lieutenant General, posed the question of "the direct threat of the use, under certain circumstances, of tactical nuclear weapons by the Russian Armed Forces. Combat actions on the territory of Ukraine have already demonstrated how much the Russian Federation neglects the issues of global nuclear security even in a war with the use of conventional means. In particular, since July 2022, Russian troops have set up a military base on the territory of the Zaporizhzhya NPP, placing heavy artillery, in particular, BM-30 "Smerch" multiple rocket launcher systems.

"It is hard to imagine that even nuclear strikes will allow the Russian Federation to break Ukraine's will to resist. But the threat that will appear for the whole of Europe cannot be ignored. It is also impossible to completely rule out the possibility of direct involvement of the world's leading countries in a "limited" nuclear conflict, in which the prospect of the Third World War is already directly visible.

"It is again forced, but extremely necessary, to return to the source of Russian confidence, namely impunity. Any attempts at practical steps towards the use of tactical nuclear weapons must be stopped using the entire arsenal of means at the disposal of the countries of the world. After all, starting from this moment, the Russian Federation will become not only a threat to the peaceful coexistence of Ukraine, its other neighbors and a number of European countries, but also a truly global terrorist state."