Latest news with #InternationalCampaigntoAbolishNuclearWeapons
Irish Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Daily Mirror
Vladimir Putin's chilling nuclear threat as he locks horns with the West
Vladimir Putin has sent a shiver down the spine of the Western world with his statement: "there has been no need to use (nuclear) I hope they will not be required". As Russia's conflict with Ukraine drags on into its fourth year, the Russian leader made the comment in a propaganda documentary celebrating 25 years at the helm. With an arsenal of 5,449 nuclear warheads, Russia boasts the most substantial stockpile of atomic firepower on the planet, deployable via missiles, subs, and aircraft. Security analysts have voiced concerns that Putin, who has gained notoriety for dodging peace talks, is not reliable in his promises or actions. He has escalated tensions by putting his nuclear forces on "combat duty" and redefining the threshold for using these weapons from facing annihilation to threats against the nation's sovereignty, reports the Express. However, despite this unsettling posturing, the autocrat, who came to power upon Boris Yeltsin's stepping down in 1999, declared: "We have enough strength and means to bring what was started in 2022 to a logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires." In a bold move last November, Putin revised Russia's nuclear strategy document, detailing when he can call upon Moscow's nuclear capabilities, extending the scenarios to include non-nuclear strikes from a nuclear state. Marking a first in his presidential tenure, Putin has essentially put his nuclear forces on alert, signalling a clear readiness for conflict. No other state has deployed nukes since the US used them in WWII against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending approximately 200,000 lives instantly. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons [ICAN] confirms America's arsenal includes a staggering 5,277 warheads. The vast majority of nuclear arms are held between Russia and the US, claiming close to 90% of the world's active military slocks. China, France, the UK, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea are the only other countries with access to such destructive firepower. Geneva's ICAN warns: "A single nuclear warhead could kill hundreds of thousands of people, with lasting and devastating humanitarian and environmental consequences. Detonating just one nuclear weapon alone over New York would cause an estimated 583,160 fatalities." ICAN reports: "Combined, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States possess over 12,300 nuclear weapons, most of which are many times more powerful than the nuclear weapon dropped on Hiroshima. Thirty-two other states are also part of the problem, with six nations hosting nuclear weapons, and a further 28 endorsing their use." Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Ukraine surrendered its 1,900 strategic nuclear warheads after the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, whereby Russia and America vowed not to invade—the nukes were returned to Russia. Dr Patricia Lewis from Chatham House has sounded the alarm on the potential use of nuclear weapons by Russia, asserting: "It was believed that if Russia were to use nuclear weapons it would likely be in Ukraine, using short range, lower yield 'battlefield' nuclear weapons. Russia is thought to have more than 1,000 in reserve. These would have to be taken from storage and either connected to missiles, placed in bombers, or as shells in artillery." She further highlighted a shift in Moscow's menacing language, noting: "Increasingly the rhetoric from Russia suggests nuclear threats are a more direct threat to NATO – not only Ukraine – and could refer to longer range, higher yield nuclear weapons." Dr Lewis also pointed out the absence of nuclear posturing from NATO, stating: "There have been no expressed nuclear weapons threats from NATO states. NATO does rely on nuclear weapons as a form of deterrence and recently committed to significantly strengthen its longer-term deterrence and defence posture in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Labour government has repeatedly reiterated its commitment to British nuclear weapons – including before the general election." Meanwhile, the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics reports that Russian economy is tottering under sanctions, finding itself in an "increasingly precarious state". Whilst appearing outwardly stable, experts suggest the Russian economy actually masks deep-seated instability, with underlying imbalances and structural weaknesses steadily worsening. The European Union has enforced 17 rounds of sanctions on Russia since the Ukraine war began in February 2022, primarily targeting Moscow's key revenue streams - oil, gas, and coal exports. Other Western nations, including the US, Canada, the UK, and Japan, have also imposed sanctions. In an attempt to downplay the effectiveness of Western sanctions, Russia claims its gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.3% in 2024, following a 3.6% expansion in 2023. Meanwhile, tensions between the East and West continue to escalate, with Donald Trump announcing plans to make the proposed €208 billion Golden Dome missile defence programme "fully operational" by 2029. This programme aims to develop ground and space-based capabilities to detect and intercept missiles at all stages of a potential attack, including before launch, during the initial stages of flight, mid-course, and in the final minutes before impact. The Pentagon has long warned that China and Russia's latest missile developments are so advanced that updated countermeasures are necessary. Both nations have deployed offensive space-based assets, such as satellites capable of disabling critical satellites, leaving the US vulnerable to attack. Last year, the US alleged that Russia was developing a space-based nuclear weapon that could linger above the Earth before releasing a burst to take out surrounding satellites. Mr Trump, who instructed the Pentagon to develop space-based interceptors via executive order at the start of his presidency, revealed he has not yet discussed Golden Dome with Putin. However, in a joint statement earlier this month, China and Russia described the concept as "deeply destabilising in nature", cautioning it would transform "outer space into an environment for placing weapons and an arena for armed confrontation."
Scottish Sun
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
How India & Pakistan could spark nuclear war killing 125million as warring neighbours urged to step back from armageddon
INDIA and Pakistan are being urged to step back from armageddon as a nuclear war between the two rivals could kill 125million people. The fighting neighbours traded rocket and artillery attacks in an overnight blitz leaving dozens dead and fears of all-out conflict. 9 The Pakistani military's medium range ballistic missile Hatf V (Ghauri) taking off during a test fire in 2010 9 Indian soldiers stand on the border with Pakistan 9 Footage emerged of Indian rockets fired at Pakistan 9 Pakistan's leader labelled the strikes an "act of war" and his country claimed to have shot down Indian fighter jets. Now, fears are abound that fighting could escalate to the use of nuclear weapons and kill tens of millions. Peace campaigners like the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons are "gravely concerned" and have called for the two sides to step back from the brink. India and Pakistan only have small stockpiles of nuclear weapons compared to Russia or America - but they have a viscous rivalry and longstanding feud over Kashmir. New Delhi is estimated to have 180 nuclear warheads and can deliver them through land, sea, or air. Islamabad was last officially thought to have 170 weapons but could have grown that arsenal to around 200. Colonel Philip Ingram, a former British Army commander, said the West will be particularly nervous about a nuclear conflict. Ingram said: "Western intelligence in particular will be focused on the readiness and the outloading of nuclear stocks inside both Pakistan and India and monitoring what's happening to them very closely indeed. "The worrying thing about these two nations is that the tensions are very real. "The nuclear weapons are not there to protect them against attack from China or Russia or anyone else. India 'launches airstrikes on Pakistan' in escalation between countries "It's focused purely on each other." Ingram said escalation to using nuclear weapons could happen rapidly and powers like the US would step in to try and prevent their use. He said: "The US Secretary of State, flying into India and Pakistan, would carry out shuttle diplomacy between the two." But that might not be enough to overcome the animosity between the two enemies and their desire to escalate the conflict. One key rung on the escalation ladder would be troops crossing the border in a wider invasion, causing BILLIONS COULD DIE A 2019 academic article predicted how a nuclear war could start between the two countries featuring chilling echoes of what is happening today on the subcontinent. Following a terror attack in 2025, the authors predict in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists that skirmishes would at first erupt before the Indian Army decided to invade Pakistan. Pakistani generals then panic and decide the only way they could repulse an attack is with nuclear weapons. 9 Pakistani Army soldiers and people attend the funeral of the victims of the Indian missile strike in Muridke, Punjab province Credit: EPA 9 Members of the Pakistan Central Muslim League take part in an anti-India demonstration in Peshawar Credit: AFP 9 At first Pakistan nukes its own territory to wipe out the invading Indian tanks and soldiers. Sensing a knockout blow, New Delhi decides to launch nukes on Pakistani airfields, army bases, and nuclear weapons depots. Pakistan responds by nuking Indian naval bases and army garrisons - some in cities - and uses its entire arsenal. India then fires some 70 nukes on Pakistan, leaving 100 bombs in its arsenal to continue to deter China. The authors predict up to 125million people would die in the horrifying nuclear exchanges. But the environmental impacts of some 250 nuclear bombs exploding could kill many more, by creating a global famine. Billions could be killed as temperatures drop several degrees around the world and a global food shortage hits. WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE Most experts, including Ingram, think India and Pakistan will choose to deescalate the conflict. Ingram said: "I think this is something that will blow over relatively quickly, because I think both nations recognize the implications of what's going on, but that doesn't mean that the tension is going to simmer down. "We might see more skirmishes in coming days and weeks." Tensions have been simmering for decades and the two countries have been at war at least three times before. 9 The attacks came amid soaring tensions between the two countries 9 Pakistanis gather around the debris of an Indian jet Credit: Alamy In 2019, India conducted airstrikes on Pakistan after border skirmishes erupted out of Kashmir tensions - but the sides deescalated after that. India's Ministry of Defence said the strikes against the camps were in retaliation to a "barbaric" mass shooting in Kashmir last month, when 26 people were killed by gunmen. A spokesperson said: "These military strikes were designed to deliver justice to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and their families." In an article for the Atlantic Council, Alex Plitsas assessed strikes so far seemed calculated to allow the other side to save face. Plitsas said: "By publicly framing the strikes as counterterrorism-focused and avoiding sovereign Pakistani targets, New Delhi sought to limit retaliatory pressure on Islamabad." Pakistan has, meanwhile, kept its rhetoric cautious and vowed it has the The US, China, Britain, and UN have all called for peace. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X: "I echo @POTUS's comments earlier today that this hopefully ends quickly and will continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution." CONFLICT COULD HELP CHINA Ingram said the conflict risks pushing Pakistan into the arms of the "Axis of Evil" - the alliance between Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. Ingram said: "It wouldn't surprise me if we're seeing Pakistan supplying some capability to Russia." Ingram said China could use the conflict as a way of testing its weapons on the battlefield to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan. He said: "China could stimulate a refocus of Western attention, you know, back to Pakistan, India, possibly North and South Korea, while China is focusing on Taiwan. "China would love to do that. It's within their playbook. It's the sort of tactics they'd use." Pakistan would likely not start sending weapons to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine as it needs to stockpile ammunition and guns for its own battles. Ingram said: "But I think we'll see closer relations building up, and they could come into this grouping that we are loosely referring to as the axis of evil. "And it's worrying that continues to grow."
The Irish Sun
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
How India & Pakistan could spark nuclear war killing 125million as warring neighbours urged to step back from armageddon
INDIA and Pakistan are being urged to step back from armageddon as a nuclear war between the two rivals could kill 125million people. The fighting neighbours Advertisement 9 The Pakistani military's medium range ballistic missile Hatf V (Ghauri) taking off during a test fire in 2010 9 Indian soldiers stand on the border with Pakistan 9 Footage emerged of Indian rockets fired at Pakistan 9 Pakistan's leader labelled the strikes an "act of war" and his country claimed to have shot down Indian fighter jets. Now, fears are abound that fighting could escalate to the use of nuclear weapons and kill tens of millions. Peace campaigners like the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons are "gravely concerned" and have called for the two sides to step back from the brink. India and Pakistan only have small stockpiles of nuclear weapons compared to Russia or America - but they have a viscous rivalry and longstanding feud over Advertisement Read more on world news Islamabad was last officially thought to have 170 weapons but could have grown that arsenal to around 200. Colonel Philip Ingram, a former British Army commander, said the West will be particularly nervous about a nuclear conflict. Ingram said: "Western intelligence in particular will be focused on the readiness and the outloading of nuclear stocks inside both Pakistan and India and monitoring what's happening to them very closely indeed. Advertisement Most read in The Sun "The worrying thing about these two nations is that the tensions are very real. "The nuclear weapons are not there to protect them against attack from China or Russia or anyone else. India 'launches airstrikes on Pakistan' in escalation between countries "It's focused purely on each other." Ingram said escalation to using nuclear weapons could happen rapidly and powers like the US would step in to try and prevent their use. Advertisement He said: "The US Secretary of State, flying into India and Pakistan, would carry out shuttle diplomacy between the two." But that might not be enough to overcome the animosity between the two enemies and their desire to escalate the conflict. One key rung on the escalation ladder would be troops crossing the border in a wider invasion, causing BILLIONS COULD DIE A 2019 academic article predicted how a Advertisement Following a terror attack in 2025, the authors predict in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists that skirmishes would at first erupt before the Indian Army decided to invade Pakistan. Pakistani generals then panic and decide the only way they could repulse an attack is with nuclear weapons. 9 Pakistani Army soldiers and people attend the funeral of the victims of the Indian missile strike in Muridke, Punjab province Credit: EPA 9 Members of the Pakistan Central Muslim League take part in an anti-India demonstration in Peshawar Credit: AFP Advertisement 9 At first Pakistan nukes its own territory to wipe out the invading Indian tanks and soldiers. Sensing a knockout blow, New Delhi decides to launch nukes on Pakistani airfields, army bases, and nuclear weapons depots. Pakistan responds by nuking Indian naval bases and army garrisons - some in cities - and uses its entire arsenal. Advertisement India then fires some 70 nukes on Pakistan, leaving 100 bombs in its arsenal to continue to deter China. The authors predict up to 125million people would die in the horrifying nuclear exchanges. But the environmental impacts of some 250 nuclear bombs exploding could kill many more, by creating a global famine. Billions could be killed as temperatures drop several degrees around the world and a global food shortage hits. Advertisement WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE Most experts, including Ingram, think India and Pakistan will choose to deescalate the conflict. Ingram said: "I think this is something that will blow over relatively quickly, because I think both nations recognize the implications of what's going on, but that doesn't mean that the tension is going to simmer down. "We might see more skirmishes in coming days and weeks." Tensions have been simmering for decades and the two countries have been at war at least three times before. Advertisement 9 The attacks came amid soaring tensions between the two countries 9 Pakistanis gather around the debris of an Indian jet Credit: Alamy In 2019, India conducted airstrikes on Pakistan after border skirmishes erupted out of Kashmir tensions - but the sides deescalated after that. India's Ministry of Defence said the strikes against the camps were in retaliation to a "barbaric" , when 26 people were killed by gunmen. Advertisement A spokesperson said: "These military strikes were designed to deliver justice to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and their families." In an Plitsas said: "By publicly framing the strikes as counterterrorism-focused and avoiding sovereign Pakistani targets, New Delhi sought to limit retaliatory pressure on Islamabad." Pakistan has, meanwhile, kept its rhetoric cautious and vowed it has the Advertisement The US, China, Britain, and UN have all called for peace. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X: "I echo @POTUS's comments earlier today that this hopefully ends quickly and will continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution." CONFLICT COULD HELP CHINA Ingram said the conflict risks pushing Pakistan into the arms of the "Axis of Evil" - the alliance between Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. Ingram said: "It wouldn't surprise me if we're seeing Pakistan supplying some capability to Russia." Advertisement Ingram said China could use the conflict as a way of testing its weapons on the battlefield to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan. He said: "China could stimulate a refocus of Western attention, you know, back to Pakistan, India, possibly North and South Korea, while China is focusing on Taiwan. "China would love to do that. It's within their playbook. It's the sort of tactics they'd use." Pakistan would likely not start sending weapons to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine as it needs to stockpile ammunition and guns for its own battles. Advertisement Ingram said: "But I think we'll see closer relations building up, and they could come into this grouping that we are loosely referring to as the axis of evil. "And it's worrying that continues to grow." What is the Kashmir conflict about? The region of Kashmir has always been a contentious issue even before India and Pakistan won their independence from Britain. But the current conflict stems from how the region was split up as the two countries were gaining independence. Indian troops took two-thirds of Kashmir, while Pakistan seized the northern third. Since then, two wars have been fought between the two countries and the row has developed into one of the most intense geopolitical rivalries on earth. There are about 16 million people in Kashmir, split between the Indian-controlled and Pakistani-controlled zones.
The Sun
28-04-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Nobel laureates urge Trump, Putin to meet on denuclearisation
GENEVA: Three Nobel Peace Prize-winning groups campaigning to eliminate nuclear weapons joined forces on Monday to urge the US and Russian presidents to meet and agree on significant denuclearisation. The joint appeal came from Japan's atomic bomb survivors' group Nihon Hidankyo, which won last year's Nobel; 2017 laureate the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN); and the 1985 winner, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. They sent a joint letter to the two leaders, ICAN said in a statement Monday. 'At this moment of extreme nuclear danger, we call on you to take urgent steps to de-escalate tensions and to engage in meaningful negotiations for nuclear disarmament,' they wrote to US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The two countries between them control 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons. The groups said they were prompted to write their letter following Trump's suggestion after returning to power in January that he wanted the world to 'denuclearise', and the Kremlin's expressed openness to the idea. 'The current climate surrounding nuclear weapons is the most volatile in decades,' they said, warning of potential 'catastrophic consequences for all humankind'. The Nobel laureates called in their letter on the two leaders to follow the example set by their predecessors Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. The then US and Soviet leaders met in Iceland in 1986 during the Cold War and agreed the deepest cuts ever in their countries' nuclear forces. 'The expansion of nuclear weapons capabilities is not a route to safety,' the groups argued. 'It only increases the risk these weapons will be used by accident or design. 'The only viable security strategy is one that moves the world away from the brink of nuclear catastrophe and prioritises disarmament,' they added. 'Nuclear weapons are not an inevitable force of nature that must be endured,' they said. 'They were built by human hands, and they can be dismantled by human hands. All that's required is political will.'
Eyewitness News
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Nobel laureates urge Trump, Putin to meet on denuclearisation
GENEVA - Three Nobel Peace Prize-winning groups campaigning to eliminate nuclear weapons joined forces on Monday to urge the US and Russian presidents to meet and agree on significant denuclearisation. The joint appeal came from Japan's atomic bomb survivors' group Nihon Hidankyo, which won last year's Nobel; 2017 laureate the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN); and the 1985 winner, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. They sent a joint letter to the two leaders, ICAN said in a statement Monday. "At this moment of extreme nuclear danger, we call on you to take urgent steps to de-escalate tensions and to engage in meaningful negotiations for nuclear disarmament," they wrote to US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The two countries between them control 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons. The groups said they were prompted to write their letter following Trump's suggestion after returning to power in January that he wanted the world to "denuclearise", and the Kremlin's expressed openness to the idea. "The current climate surrounding nuclear weapons is the most volatile in decades," they said, warning of potential "catastrophic consequences for all humankind". The Nobel laureates called in their letter on the two leaders to follow the example set by their predecessors Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. The then US and Soviet leaders met in Iceland in 1986 during the Cold War and agreed the deepest cuts ever in their countries' nuclear forces. "The expansion of nuclear weapons capabilities is not a route to safety," the groups argued. "It only increases the risk these weapons will be used by accident or design. "The only viable security strategy is one that moves the world away from the brink of nuclear catastrophe and prioritises disarmament," they added. "Nuclear weapons are not an inevitable force of nature that must be endured," they said. "They were built by human hands, and they can be dismantled by human hands. All that's required is political will."
