If world fails to respond harshly to Russia’s nuclear blackmail, there will be nuclear wars — Head of Office of President of Ukraine

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO — SATURDAY, 1 OCTOBER 2022, 20:23

Andrii Yermak, the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, believes that if the world fails to give a tough and unambiguous response to Russia's nuclear blackmail, it can lead to nuclear wars with millions of casualties.

Source: Yermak, in a column for the U.S. magazine The Atlantic, cited by Office of the President

Quote: "The response to Russia's nuclear blackmail should be tough and unambiguous, rejecting the very idea of making concessions to the nuclear aggressor.

Otherwise, every ambitious dictator will try to get nuclear weapons, and every country that does not have them will try to buy them for self-defence. Nuclear non-proliferation agreements will prove futile. Then, there will be nuclear wars with millions of victims."

Details: Yermak is convinced that today the civilised world must demonstrate determination and make it clear to the Russian Federation that it will not get away with either an attempt to annex Ukrainian territories or nuclear blackmail. One of these decisive steps may be the conclusion of the Kyiv Security Compact, recommendations which were recently presented.

He stressed that these recommendations do not replace Ukraine's desire to gain NATO membership because these security guarantees are supposed to protect our state until it joins the Alliance.

"The Kyiv Security Compact will let Russia know that the price of its aggression will increase until it becomes too high. Helping Ukraine to protect itself, survive and ultimately win is the best investment that our allies can make to take care of a safer future for the whole world," Yermak concluded.

Background:

• After the announcement of partial mobilisation in the Russian Federation, President Vladimir Putin again threatened Western countries with the use of nuclear weapons. Western leaders have condemned Putin's nuclear rhetoric, calling it a dangerous escalation and "sabre-rattling".
• According to Western media, the United States believes that the probability of Russian President Vladimir Putin using tactical weapons in the war against Ukraine is now probably the highest since 24 February, but this is still unlikely. 
•  Unofficially, it is known that Western capitals are thinking through response scenarios in case the Kremlin does use nuclear weapons. 
• The Biden administration said they warned Russia about "catastrophic" consequences in the case of such a step.
•  Rretired General Ben Hodges, former commander of the US Army in Europe, considers this unlikely since it would be suicide for Vladimir Putin and his entourage.

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