Will Europe Use Nukes in Ukraine?
We are almost three years into NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine against Russia and Russia is winning. In spite of all the aid and weapons given to Ukraine, in spite of the satellite support, covert support, logistics support, etc., Ukraine is losing ground and losing troops. Current Russian tactics involve advanced drone techniques. Ukraine is losing fortress after fortress, and soon there will be ample open land to grab.
There are some limitations on Russia. In spite of claims to the contrary, Putin seems to want to minimize Russian troops losses and Ukrainian civilian deaths. The drone warfare does limit Russia from advancing quickly. NATO support means Ukraine will have excellent knowledge of troop movements. Even so, Russia should move rapidly forward over the coming months, continuing the current advance.
NATO has long had troops secretly in Ukraine, but what will happen when they openly face Russians face-to-face? What will NATO do if Russia surrounds Kharkov or approached Odessa?
At some point Europe will face a point of no return: either Europe accepts Russia conquering most of Ukraine or Europe goes to war directly. I don’t say NATO because Trump won’t let NATO go to war directly. This will be a European affair.
And Europe is unprepared to go to war. Most of the major European states lack a real military, having let their warfighting ability atrophy to almost nothing. And once Europe attacks Russia, Russia will expand the war. The Baltic states are highly provocative but also extremely weak, mice that squeak rather than roar. Germany and France and the United Kingdom lack the capacity for war.
Can Europe acquiesce to Russia control of Ukraine? Can it let things go back to pre-2014? Likely not.
And France and the United Kingdom still have their own nukes, so what will they do when they are faced with losing? They may need to go nuclear.
Russia has no need to go nuclear. Russia has a variety of advanced weapons which can cause significant damage. Russia is winning. Russia would only go nuclear to stop an incursion that threatened its existence.
If the people of the world want to avoid nuclear war over Ukraine, then they should force Ukraine to accept peace, cutting off all support if necessary. NATO’s goals for the Ukraine War have no hope of success. There will be no reversal of fortune. Instead, Europe should follow Trump’s lead and make peace. But too many European leaders need to keep the Russian fearmongering up to prevent their own citizens from seeing how bad their own countries have become. The Orwellian need to have an external enemy might prevent Europe from finding peace, in spite of itself.
We can only hope that the Europeans love their children too. Oh, that’s right, many of the European leaders are childless and have no stake in the future. Oops.