The threat of nuclear war came to the fore again with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement on February 21, 2023, that Russia would suspend the New START agreement, the only remaining arms control treaty with the United States.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a conventional war is taking place between the two countries for the first time since the Second World War in Europe. Russia has not been able to break the resistance in Ukraine as it had aimed, and it frequently threatens to use nuclear weapons.
The possibility of using nuclear weapons, voiced by Russia and met with harsh statements in the West, remains a cause for concern. Using nuclear weapons could also lead to an escalation of a regional conflict into a global war, drawing in other countries and potentially leading to a nuclear holocaust.
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