President Vladimir Putin recently warned the Western nations that they risk provoking a nuclear war if they deploy ground troops to fight in Ukraine. According to Putin, Western nations must realize that Russia has weapons that can hit targets on their territories. All this threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Putin prefaced his nuclear warning with a specific reference to an idea, floated by French President Emmanuel Macron suggesting that the NATO members send ground troops to Ukraine to fight Russia.
The war in Ukraine has triggered the worst crisis in Moscow’s relations with the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis in the early sixties. Putin has previously told his adversaries of the dangers of a confrontation between the North Atlantic Alliance and the Russian Federation, but his recent warning about nuclear conflict surely indicates the volume and gravity of the tension that exists between the two warring factions in East Europe. Russia recently captured Ukraine’s border town of Avdiivka, following a weeks-long deadly battle between the two armies. The Russian Army is pressing forward into the large chunk of the 1000 km frontline on the Russian-Ukraine border.
The war in Ukraine has entered its third year with Russian forces now in the best position on the battlefield in Ukraine and advancing on multiple fronts. Russia has stepped up its defenses to its western borders with the European Union after Finland and Sweden decided to join the NATO military bloc. Ukraine’s war efforts are gradually weakening and Kyiv’s troops are sliding back in multiple places due to a scarcity of troops, arms, and ammunition. Ukraine largely relied on Western support during its war against several times bigger enemy which in turn became over-fatigued and burdened due to a prolonged indiscriminate battle. Unfortunately, the EU assistance package for Ukraine faced staunch opposition from multiple European community members at the EU Parliament wherein the $ 60 billion proposed Ukraine aid package of the Biden administration met the same fate in US Congress. Ukraine faces the worst scenarios in its years-long war against Russia, with a destroyed economy and infrastructure, exhausted military, and depleted arms reserves. Recently, French President Emmanuel Macron put forth a suggestion to deploy NATO troops in Ukraine which was sharply declined by several bloc members but this idea met a resolute response from the Kremlin.
The strategic impact of the Russia-Ukraine war continues to evolve, and its long-term consequences will depend on how the conflict ultimately plays out and the actions of various stakeholders including Russia, Ukraine, the United States, and its allies, which are resolutely stood beside Kiyv and adding to the hostility through all possible means.
If Western nations pour their latest weapons or deploy their troops in Ukraine that will further intensify the conflict by adding Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) from both sides, Russia most probably will use its first-strike option to avoid backlash at a later stage. All these developments surely have grave consequences for global peace and stability. Hence, the warring blocs, the global community, and the UN play their due role in the Ukraine war. Hence, diplomacy and dialogue must be used to find common ground and pave the path for a peaceful settlement of the disputes between Russia and Ukraine. Otherwise, the Ukraine conflict has the potential to transition into a global nuclear conflict that will perish the whole world into ashes.
