At the battle of Stirling Bridge, 11 September 1297, the movie Braveheart has William Wallace provoking the English to battle, saying "Here are Scotland's terms. Lower your flags, and march straight back to England, stopping at every home to beg forgiveness for 100 years of theft, rape, and murder. Do that and your men shall live. Do it not, and every one of you will die today. ... Before we let you leave, your commander must cross that field, present himself before this army, put his head between his legs, and kiss his own ass."

Putin's Nuclear Crisis - December 2023

Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, condemned recent statements by an Israeli minister about the use of nuclear weapons in Gaza as "unacceptable and provocative." In an exclusive interview 09 December 2023 with the Tasnim News Agency, Ulyanov addressed condemnations of recent statements made by an Israeli minister during the November session of the IAEA Board of Governors in which a significant number of countries, notably excluding Western nations, joined in denouncing the remarks, which were seen as confirming Israel's possession of nuclear weapons and suggesting a readiness to consider their use.

Ulyanov went on to say that during the IAEA Board of Governors session in November, attention was drawn to statements made by the Israeli minister, which drew condemnation from a diverse group of nations, particularly those from the Middle East. “What stood out was the absence of any attempt by Western countries to justify the Israeli minister's remarks,” he said.

Ulyanov expressed his country's position during the session, labeling the statements as both "unacceptable and provocative." He emphasized the historical 'confirm nor deny' policy of Israel concerning its nuclear arsenal, asserting that the recent statements not only confirm Israel's possession of nuclear weapons but also indicate a readiness to seriously consider their use.

Amichai Eliyahu, Israel's heritage minister, said in November that one of Israel's options in the war against Hamas could be to drop a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip, comments that drew condemnation from the Muslim world. Iran also demanded an immediate international response, arguing that such a threat undermines the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

The Russian diplomat also criticized Western nations' stance on Iran's nuclear program. He highlighted the disappointing nature of the E3 and US statement at the IAEA session, outlining Western nations' continuous enumeration of complaints about Iran's nuclear program's deviation from JCPOA parameters. “This is pure hypocrisy, as they are the ones refusing to conclude negotiations on the restoration of the Nuclear Deal that are standing at the finish line. If a relevant decision was finalized, and this can be done within a few days, then four months later the nuclear program of Iran would return to its 2016 parameters – together with lifting of illegal US unilateral sanctions against Iran,” he added.

He stressed that decisive action would restore Iran's nuclear program to its 2016 status while lifting unilateral US sanctions, but Western countries seem unwilling to take this step, indicating satisfaction with the current state of affairs. “Western countries are not ready to take such a step. As it was noted by the Russian delegation at the November session of the IAEA Board of Governors, this clearly demonstrates that they are fully satisfied with the current state of affairs, and they have no appetite whatsoever to change anything for the better. That’s the reality of today,” Ulyanov said.

He inferred that the US, France, Germany, and the UK might not be ready to resume and finalize the Vienna Talks on the JCPOA restoration, indicating a potential continued status quo. “Judging by all circumstances, most likely the US, France, Germany and the UK at this stage are not ready to resume and finalize the Vienna Talks on the JCPOA restoration. This means that the current status quo will probably remain intact in the foreseeable future,” he said, expressing concern about potential uncontrolled escalation and commending Iran's responsible approach in the matter, emphasizing its readiness to conclude the Vienna Talks positively.

“From the Russian point of view, it’s not good, as in these circumstances any ill-conceived or careless action may lead to an uncontrolled escalation. We welcome the fact that Iran takes a responsible stance in that matter, refraining from sudden moves and stressing its readiness to conclude the Vienna Talks on a positive note,” he concluded.

Russia should revise its nuclear doctrine and lower its nuclear threshold in order to deter the West from pursuing reckless policies, former foreign policy adviser to the deputy head of the Russian Presidential Administration, Sergey Karaganov, said 26 December 2023. The political scientist, who is the honorary chair of the presidium of Russia’s Council on Foreign and Defense policy (SVOP), has in the past repeatedly brought up the issue of nuclear weapons, in a number of articles, and has suggested that Russia should consider the possibility of carrying out preemptive nuclear strikes against targets in Europe at some point.

Karaganov’s controversial suggestions have landed him in hot water, as SVOP members even issued a joint letter this summer “unequivocally condemning” his reasoning and calling it “irresponsible” to assume a nuclear conflict could be limited without spiraling into a global nuclear war, costing millions of lives.

However, in an interview with the Daily Storm news outlet published on 26 December 2023, Karaganov stated that he is “very pleased” that he initiated the discussion about nuclear weapons. He argued that the mere fact that the question of a preemptive Russian nuclear strike was put on the agenda has already forced Western leaders to “sober up.”

“If before my articles the Americans wrote that Russia would never use nuclear weapons, they soon began to write that they could still use them. And now they write how to avoid the use of nuclear weapons by Russia and how, God forbid, not to lose in the third world war,” Karaganov said.

When asked to explain why there were no talks about using nuclear weapons back in the 1990’s, the political expert explained that Russia at that point was weak and had a false sense that it could merge with the West. “We even tried to join NATO in order to create unified pan-European security,” Karagnov recalled, noting that Moscow’s proposals were all rejected and instead, the US-led bloc chose a path of expansion, undermining Russia’s interests.

After the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 and Washington’s exit from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002, Karaganov said “everything became clear” to anyone involved in foreign military policy, which was why Russia ultimately decided to start modernizing its strategic weapons systems. Meanwhile, Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to attack Europe; Russian President Vladimir Putin has assured that the country would only resort to nuclear weapons when faced with an existential threat.

According to Russia’s Nuclear Doctrine, the country reserves the right to use its strategic arsenal if it is attacked with nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction, or if the existence of the state as a whole is threatened with conventional means.