Members of Russia’s Council for Foreign and Defense Policy condemn ‘preemptive nuclear strike’
Members of Russia’s Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, an important think tank, published a statement on July 13, condemning a “preemptive nuclear strike” by Russia.
The statement, which expresses the opinion of its signatories but not of the Council as a whole, says that the idea of using a nuclear strike in the event of military failures in Ukraine is becoming increasingly widespread in Russia.
The authors express the belief that such “pseudo-theoretical reasoning” and “emotional statements” are unacceptable, creating attitudes in Russian society that could lead to “catastrophic decisions.”
Part of the statement reads:
Hoping that a limited nuclear conflict can be managed and prevented from escalating into a global nuclear conflict is the height of irresponsibility. This means that at stake is the destruction of tens, perhaps even hundreds, of millions of people in Russia, Europe, China, the U.S., and other countries. This is a direct threat to humanity itself.
The authors of the appeal also believe that a nuclear war would lead to “a loss of Russian sovereignty under pressure from surviving peoples of the South.”
“We, members of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, consider such suggestions absolutely unacceptable and we unequivocally condemn them. No one at any time should blackmail humanity with the threat of nuclear weapons, let alone command their use in battle,” the statement reads.