Geopolitical Note: Armageddon for Ukraine?

Cold War calculations were about mutual destruction. If the US or NATO was to attack USSR or its pact countries, the retaliatory strike would be just so deadly that mutual destruction was guaranteed.

The target of attack had to be significant enough for the retaliation to happen.

With Ukraine War and the entry of the West, the world had a strange situation. NATO was ready to set themselves up for another equation of mutual destruction but over a country that is not even part of NATO or important for the West.

Worse, Biden took things to an illogical space when he suggested that even the use of a tactical device (nuclear) in Ukraine could immediately lead to an "Armageddon". This came in October 2022.

“The mistakes get made, the miscalculation could occur, no one could be sure what would happen and it could end in Armageddon,” he said, again stressing that a nuclear blast that kills thousands of people could lead to events barreling way out of control. (Source: Biden sends a careful but chilling new nuclear message to Putin in CNN interview / CNN)

All that for Ukraine?!

Biden's existentially dangerous jingoism has not gone unnoticed.

Putin met at the annual Valdai Discussion Club. What is it?

The Valdai Discussion Club is a think tank and discussion forum based in Moscow. It was established in 2004 and is named after Lake Valdai, which is located near Veliky Novgorod, where the Club's inaugural meeting occurred.

Putin shared how Russia's attempt to work with the US with "goodwill" had been taken as a sign of weakness. The message was that the new world order will be built by the winners of the Cold War, which, the Americans believed they were.

But that was the grievance part of his discussion.

Then he talked about the threat to Russia from the West. That part was chilling!

Putin warns of a massive retaliatory strike of Russian nuclear missiles from multiple directions if nuclear missile launches are detected, indicating a potential simultaneous and total nuclear strike against all NATO nuclear powers, including the U.S.

While laying out the threat clearly, Putin also mentioned something that should be extremely disturbing for NATO and the US.

In the speech, Putin noted the United States has signed but not ratified the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, while Russia has signed and ratified it. He argued that Russia could “mirror the stand taken by the U.S.” “Theoretically, we may revoke the ratification.” he said. (Source: Russia tested nuclear-powered missile with global range, Putin says / c4isrnet)

And then he talked about the deployment of two fearsome weapons

He said that Russia "has effectively completed the development of the Burevestnik cruise missile and the Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile and will work on putting them into production."

What is Sarmat? It is also called Satan-2.

Sarmat is an impressive missile that measures approximately 116 feet in length, weighs 220 tonnes, and can carry 15 light nuclear warheads simultaneously. These warheads are arranged as Multiple Independently Targetable Re-Entry Vehicles (MIRVs), allowing the missile to hit multiple targets at once. The first test launch took place from Plesetsk in northwest Russia and successfully hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula, which is nearly 6,000 km (3,700 miles) away. The missiles were named after the Sarmatians, a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples who dominated the Pontic steppe from the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD. The Sarmat missile is capable of a sub-orbital flight of 35,000 km. A successful test was conducted on 20 April 2022. Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia's state space agency, Roscosmos, stated that the new Sarmat-2 intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are as tall as 14 stories, will soon be combat-ready.

One is sure that the United States has a counter measure.

But the world is in a strange place. US has a President who keeps shaking hands with no one in particular in the air. And keeps blabbering when he is not issuing threats to Putin.

Something does not make sense with the NATO's insatiable love for Ukraine that can lead to an existential crisis for the each one of them and the world!