Nuclear arms race fears after West stalls
VLADIMIR Putin has restarted a nuclear arms race because of his “blackmail” during the conflict in Ukraine, a leading Russian expert has warned.
Fiona Hill, an ex-white House intelligence adviser, said because Nato has not directly intervened in the war over fears of a nuclear confrontation, some countries are questioning whether they can rely on the nuclear umbrella provided by key western allies.
The Russian leader has threatened to use tactical nuclear weapons in response to perceived Western provocation.
And Russia yesterday said it will deploy its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, also known as Satan-2 and capable of carrying more than 10 nuclear warheads, by the autumn. It testlaunched the missile last week.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, Ms Hill, the former deputy assistant to ex-president Donald Trump, said: “The nuclear issue is something everybody should be concerned about on a global basis because he [Putin] is basically telling every country: You need a nuclear weapon.
“So the whole idea of nonproliferation is basically out the window, because it is very clear the reason we are not going after Russia with everything that we’ve got is because they’ve got a nuclear weapon and he is saying he’s prepared to use one.
“And everyone is looking at this now and thinking, ‘right, well if I want to have my way with my neighbour, I need a nuclear weapon’ – that’s basically what Putin is telling us.
“Conversely, everyone is thinking, ‘if I’m going to have a good defensive posture, I can’t rely on someone else coming to my assistance, I need a nuclear weapon’.”
It comes as Boris Johnson is said to have persuaded India, a nuclear power, to reduce its reliance on Russia by shifting to high-tech British arms.
India is unlikely to abandon its “neutral” position over Russia and has failed to condemn the invasion of Ukraine.
However, a more proactive approach from the West could help sway the country, which has come under fire for continuing to buy Russian arms and striking a new energy deal with Moscow.
Both issues were addressed during Mr Johnson’s visit last week, six months ahead of the free trade agreement expected to be signed in October.