The war between Russia and Ukraine is taking on increasingly worrying contours. On Tuesday morning (4), Vladimir Putin’s government said it had already enlisted 200,000 of the 300,000 reservists it intends to use in the armed conflict. Still according to official sources, all these soldiers are being trained to fight in a nuclear, chemical and biological warfare environment.
As if all this mobilization was not enough, the British newspaper The Times stated that the Russian president would be preparing his troops to carry out a nuclear test near the Ukrainian border. The newspaper cited an intelligence report sent by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to member states, which warned of possible actions by Moscow.
According to information released by the newspaper, a train operated by Russia’s nuclear division would be heading towards a location that borders the Ukrainian country. The escalation comes at a time when russians sees its army losing ground to Ukrainian troops on the battlefield. According to Konrad Muzyka, a Polish defense analyst, the train is linked to the 12th main directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense and which is “responsible for nuclear munitions, their storage, maintenance, transport and issuance to units” .
Other information, released by the Daily Mail , also indicates that armored military transport vehicles were seen traveling on locomotives in a region close to central russians last Sunday (2). Such vehicles are believed to have been upgraded with stronger armor, in addition to having their weapons improved and now featuring a new air purification system, designed to allow their occupants to battle in adverse conditions, such as a possible ambush with gas pumps, for example.
NATO has also warned alliance countries that Russia state-of-the-art Belgorod nuclear submarine has left its base in the White Sea, further reinforcing the idea that Putin’s country is considering escalating the war to another level. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in turn, declared that Moscow does not want to get into the “nuclear rhetoric of the Western media and politicians” , not giving further details about the information released by the international press.
Russia in the struggle for Ukrainian regions
Russia does not seem willing to lose territory to Ukraine. After officially decreeing the annexation of four areas of Ukraine — Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Lugansk — the Russian leader claimed that they would be defended with “all possible means” . The statement raised concern in several countries, especially those that border or are close to conflict, with the possible imminence of the use of nuclear weapons.
At the same time that the tone increases, the russians country also remains concerned after Ukrainian forces reconquer and expel Russian troops from some locations that had already been dominated by the Russians. It was with this in mind that russians called up reservations, a fact that led to real confusion in the country, even causing the departure of thousands of people who did not want to get involved in the armed dispute.
The decision to call up reservists also culminated in several protests recorded on Russian soil. Hundreds of people against the mobilization were arrested by the local police. In the last week of September, the Defense Ministry said that only a few tech professionals, bankers and journalists from state-owned media outlets would not be called up to serve in Ukraine.
The mobilization, however, has caused damage to the image of Vladimir Putin. Analysts point to a series of misguided decisions that have been putting the country’s president’s reputation in check. Even allied countries have begun to express dissatisfaction with the way the conflict is being handled by the Kremlin.
USA on alert
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that under no circumstances would he agree with the ratification of Ukrainian territories by Russias. On the other hand, the Russian Defense Ministry said that it “hopes that Kiev will change its mind” or that “ a new president of the country will change that position” .
In the US, CIA Director Bill Burns said Putin “can be quite dangerous and reckless” if cornered. Former director of the US Central Intelligence Agency and retired general, David Petraeus, believes that a nuclear attack by would be the trigger and would result in retaliation by the US government. “Certainly the United States and its allies would destroy russians soldiers and equipment in Ukraine and sink its fleet in the Black Sea ,” he said.
Some experts, however, believe that a possible nuclear attack is not so real. In addition to the use of tactical forces against Ukrainian forces requiring the use of several warheads to have an effect, it is very likely that a radioactive cloud will be formed and can reach nearby NATO countries or even Russian soil, which would trigger an enormous pain of head to the country representatives
Fontes: The Times, Euro Weekly News, New York Post.
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