Abhishek Kumar Singh
Since the development of nuclear technology in the world and in 1945, two cities of Japan, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, faced the threat of atomic bombs, hardly a moment has passed since the world has breathed a sigh of relief after coming out of the fear of nuclear war. For the past few decades, scientists associated with ‘The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ have been predicting the ‘Doomdsay Clock’ to show the nearness of the fear of the doomsday, they claimed earlier this year that the world is now just from catastrophe. hundred seconds away. In this clock, war weapons, climate change, subversive technology, fake video, audio, attempts to increase military power in space and the growing hypersonic arms race are recorded as factors of threat of catastrophe.
Significantly, given the way Russia is targeting Ukraine’s nuclear plants, it is not redundant to say that the world is standing on the verge of a nuclear war. Only two questions remain after Russia’s threat that if anyone came between its attack and occupation of Ukraine, it would be considered provocation to use nuclear weapons. One is whether Russia can be prevented from carrying out a nuclear attack and second, whether it is necessary for every country to have the option of nuclear weapons in order to maintain peace and military balance.
Prioritizing the second question, in this regard, at the beginning of the Russian attack, there were reports of remorse from Ukraine that they wished they had not given their nuclear weapons to Russia in the past, ignoring security assurances from Europe. Had it been handed over, the situation would have been different today. The meaning is that if Ukraine, which once had a position as the third country in the world in terms of nuclear weapons, had nuclear weapons today, it was possible that Russia would not even think about such a big attack on it. . Then he would have feared that Ukraine would have detonated an atomic bomb on him knowing his defeat in the war near. In such a situation, nuclear weapons would be useful for deterrence of war or to maintain peace and military balance.
In this context, it is necessary to mention a recent comment from Japan.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said that Japan should now start a debate on the need for nuclear weapons. Abe even went so far as to say that if a country itself is not nuclear-armed, it should pursue a plan of nuclear-sharing. He clarified the purpose of his statement, saying that if Ukraine had kept some nuclear weapons as a security guarantee when it left the Soviet Union, it might not have faced this attack from Russia today.
The justification and seriousness of this demand raised by Japan can be understood in such a way that considering nuclear war as the gravest crime against humanity, the countries of the world were inspired to give up their nuclear weapons and related programs on getting security guarantees. Today, they are feeling the need of these weapons.
The first question is very important in the current situation. The question is whether Russia can be stopped from a nuclear attack. With the kind of aggression that Putin is showing, the whole world is worried that he can consider any action against him as a provocation and start a nuclear war. So far, the kind of attack his military has launched on Ukraine’s nuclear plants can be considered a very close case of giving rise to a nuclear tragedy. On the ninth day of the ongoing Russo-Ukraine war, Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s Zoporizhzhya nuclear plant.
It is the largest nuclear plant in Europe. A building there caught fire due to the attack. Thankfully the nuclear plant did not explode. The fire was also brought under control in time. Had the plant exploded for some reason, the radiation could have spread ten times more destructively than the Chernobyl accident. This would put the whole of Europe in danger.
This means that nuclear war does not start only by detonating an atomic bomb. To create a situation for leakage of radiation from a nuclear plant is also to invite nuclear war. If this happens, it will no longer be just a matter of war between two countries. In such a situation, the threat of a major nuclear war can arise at any time.
Putin has ordered the deployment of nuclear weapons in view of the way the world has imposed economic sanctions on Russia in protest against the imposition of war on Ukraine. Under his command, the Nuclear Deterrent Forces of the Russian Army is on high alert. In view of these preparations, the whole world has been shaken by the fear that after 1945, the atom bomb may not be used once again in the world.
But does Russia need to provide nuclear weapons to Ukraine to avoid war? This is a question that needs to be seen in the context of India as well. Especially because India conducted nuclear tests twice on Pokhran soil to strike a military balance with hostile neighbors like China-Pakistan and kept itself out of the Treaty of Non-Proliferation (CTBT) even after facing sanctions. It is well known that India favors the peaceful use of nuclear technology and the policy of not launching the first nuclear attack on the enemy. But it has included atom bombs in its arsenal of weapons as part of its policy of balancing its security and military power.
However, in terms of numbers, India has fewer nuclear bombs than Pakistan, not only China. China is not only ahead of us in count, but the way it has built more than a hundred missile silos in the desert near Yumen city of its western province of Ganzhou province last year, it has raised India’s concerns greatly. Huh. But with India having nuclear power, the danger is minimal that China or Pakistan will attack India very aggressively and show us the fear of nuclear weapons.