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Putin says one missile will trigger ‘hundreds’ of warheads in stark message on nuclear deterrence

Russia expert counters Putin suggestion that he will change Moscow’s nuclear doctrine

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday once again drew international attention when he warned that if even one missile enters Russian territory, “hundreds” of warheads will respond.

“I assure you, after the early warning system receives a signal of a missile attack, hundreds of our missiles are in the air,” Putin said from a summit in Kyrgyzstan, Russian news outlet RIA reported. “It is impossible to stop them.”

“There will be nothing left of the enemy, because it is impossible to intercept a hundred missiles. This, of course, is a deterrent — a serious deterrent,” he added.

Putin made headlines after he appeared to suggest that he may make changes to Russia’s nuclear deterrence doctrine by employing a first-strike policy, which he referred to as a “disarming strike” — a strategy he said is motivated by the current U.S. deterrence policy.

Russia already has this strategy embedded in its nuclear doctrine.

Washington does have a policy that allows it to use a nuclear weapon, not only in retaliation to a nuclear attack but also in response to non-nuclear threats — and so does Moscow, explained Rebekah Koffler, a Russia expert and former Defense Intelligence Agency intelligence officer for Russian Doctrine & Strategy.

“What this was, from the intelligence standpoint, is ‘strategic messaging,'” she said, adding that Putin’s comments signaled that “Russia may use nuclear weapons in Ukraine if the US/NATO continue to provide weapons to Ukraine — especially those that Ukraine can use to strike deep into Russia proper.”

US Set To Send Ukraine Patriot Missiles In Major Escalation

CNN’s chief Pentagon correspondent is reporting the breaking news based on multiple anonymous US defense officials – including a senor Biden administration official – that the White House is currently finalizing plans to send Patriot missile defense systems to Ukraine.

“The Biden administration is finalizing plans to send the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine that could be announced as soon as this week, according to two US officials and a senior administration official,” CNN writes. “The three officials told CNN that approval is expected.”

If approved, this could be a tipping point in the conflict leading to direct confrontation between nuclear-armed powers given transfer of Patriots would mark the longest-range missiles sent to Ukraine thus far.

Washington has so far been reluctant, despite Kiev officials since nearly the start of the invasion making repeat pleas for the US to help “close the sky” – as President Zelensky many months ago urged Congress.

As The Guardian reviewed of the dangers involved in sending the Patriot:

“Long sought by the Ukrainians, the missiles have a range of up to 300km, but so far the US and its allies, including the UK, have declined to supply them because they could be used to hit targets inside Russia. Supplying them would help “bring the war to an end as soon as possible”, Johnson said.

UN General Assembly demands Israel surrender its nuclear weapons after 149-6 vote

Only a handful of countries supported Israel’s right to nuclear self-defense in a recent U.N. vote.

The U.N. General Assembly considered a resolution Wednesday calling for Israel not to develop, produce, test, or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons.

Additionally, the resolution called for the Jewish nation to “renounce possession of nuclear weapons” and to assent to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons treaty, thereby placing “all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive International Atomic Energy safeguards.”

149 nations voted in favor of the resolution. Only six voted against it.

What are the details?

The U.N. general assembly demanded that Israel agree to “accede to the [Middle Eastern nuclear non-proliferation] Treaty without further delay, and not to develop, produce, test or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons, to renounce their possession and to place all its unsafeguarded nuclear facilities under full-scope International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.”

Israel, India, Pakistan, and South Sudan have not signed the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons treaty.

Israel has never formally acknowledged possessing nukes. However, former President Jimmy Carter told MSNBC in 2014 that Israel has “300 or more” nuclear warheads, and leaked emails from former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell indicated the nation had at least 200 nukes in its arsenal.

The resolution calling for Israel’s disarmament was advanced by Palestine and various other countries including Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the six nations that opposed the resolution were Canada, Israel, Micronesia, Palau, the U.S., and Liberia.

Ukraine, which voted with the Palestinians against Israel on another resolution in November, was among the 26 nations that abstained from the resolution.

‘Nothing Left Of The Enemy’: Putin Considers Preemptive Nuclear Strike Doctrine, Boasts Russian Cruise Missiles Surpass U.S. Equivalents

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that his country could adopt the doctrine of preemptive nuclear strikes while boasting that Russia’s cruise missile capabilities surpass those of the U.S.

Speaking at a summit of former Soviet nations in Kyrgyzstan, the Russian dictator referred to what he called America’s preemptive nuclear strike doctrine, saying that Russia is “thinking about” implementing something similar. Currently, Russian military doctrine states that Moscow can use a nuclear strike if the country comes under nuclear attack or the existence of the country is threatened.

“Speaking about a disarming strike, maybe it’s worth thinking about adopting the ideas developed by our U.S. counterparts, their ideas of ensuring their security,” Putin remarked with a smile, according to the Associated Press.

In October, the Pentagon rejected any limits on using nuclear weapons in its new National Defense Strategy, Bloomberg reported. Officials mentioned international threats from Russia and China as the reason for the refusal.

“[B]y the 2030s the United States will, for the first time in its history face two major nuclear powers as strategic competitors and potential adversaries,” the Pentagon said, adding that the U.S. will “maintain a very high bar for nuclear employment.”

The Crazy Mystical Impulses Sending Putin Wild in Ukraine

If you suspect that Vladimir Putin’s decision-making process is above the creed of superstition and mythical creatures, you should know that there are psychologists, intelligence agency analysts and a jailed Yakutsk wizard out there who would beg to differ.

“Putin and his entourage take the spirit world very seriously,” says a Kremlin official who requested anonymity to ensure his security, navigating what some insiders maintain is the Russian president’s Twilight Zone. “It’s not a big leap of faith for a Russian to think Putin will do what’s necessary to destroy anyone looking to exorcize the imaginary demons who they believe give him power.”

The question is, do you believe that primal evil spirits, concocted to panic delusory serfs, have entranced the 70-year-old Putin into slaughtering Ukrainians and threatening nuclear war against the West?

Anna Moroz, who’s spent a decade counseling Russian emigres mystified about how to accustom themselves to the West’s secular ways, is about as certain of it as any clinical psychologist can be under the circumstances.

“Legendary stories play a formidable role in our national psychology and are without doubt animating Putin’s actions in Ukraine,” the Russian-born Moroz explains, speaking to The Daily Beast under an assumed name for fear of reprisals. “The technical term is paradoxical thinking, but I certainly don’t believe reports that the man-snake Koschei Bessmertny is advising Putin from a grotto beneath the Kremlin.”

Tucker Carlson: Could a Lie Have Gotten Millions of Americans Killed?

Not since the pre-Glasnost days, when mutually assured nuclear destruction between the Soviet Union and the United States was the only logical way a shooting war between the two superpowers would end, has the world teetered so close to the brink of atomic conflict.

In the early days of the Ukraine war, Russian President Vladimir Putin put his nuclear forces on high alert — seldom a good sign. It was even worse when U.S. President Joe Biden began talking about “Armageddon.”

“We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Biden told a Democratic Party fundraiser last month.

Needless to say, that tends to put a fellow on edge. And, when a missile lands in Polish territory — Poland being a NATO ally — things start to get hairy. That’s especially true when early reports seemed to indicate it was a Russian missile.

We’re now almost certain it wasn’t. The missile in question is only operated by the Ukrainians, which means it was likely an accident that occurred while fending off a Russian attack. The Ukrainians aren’t admitting responsibility, however.

‘400 seconds’ to Tel Aviv: Iranian media publishes Hebrew hypersonic missile threat

Iran’s Sobh-e-Sadegh newspaper published a threat in Hebrew on its front page on Monday, warning that a new Iranian hypersonic missile could reach Israel in 400 seconds.

“400 seconds: General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force, said that Iran has obtained technology for hypersonic missiles,” wrote the newspaper, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Pariyab also referenced a letter sent by Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, the “father” of Iran’s missile program, to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, which referenced the acquisition of a “quick response super-fast missile.”

Xi Orders Military to Prepare for War, Unveils New Hypersonic Missile

Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping is ordering China’s military to comprehensively strengthen its preparations for war, even as the regime reveals its latest hypersonic weapon.

Xi said that the Party’s military branch must train for any war and be prepared for unforeseen conflicts.

He said the military must devote all its energy toward combat readiness and work to “enhance its capability to fight and win,” according to Chinese state-owned media outlet Xinhua.

Republicans in Congress push back on plan to pull forces from Japan

WASHINGTON — Four key Republicans on Capitol Hill are questioning the Air Force’s decision to replace two permanent F-15C Eagle fighter squadrons in Okinawa with rotational forces.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the lawmakers expressed concern about the plan and asked for a briefing on the decision to remove permanent forces from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.

Putin pins Ukraine hopes on winter and divisive US politics

It feels like I’m watching a scene from a James Bond film.

Somewhere near Moscow, Russia’s president is up on stage being quizzed
about the Apocalypse. The moderator reminds Putin he had once predicted
that, after a nuclear war, Russians would go to heaven.

“We’re in no rush to get there, are we?” the moderator enquires hopefully.

There’s a long, uncomfortable pause. Seven seconds of silence.

“Your silence is worrying me,” the moderator says.

“It was meant to,” replies Putin with a chuckle.

Forgive me for not laughing. This is no Hollywood blockbuster with a guaranteed happy ending. The events of the last eight months are a real-life drama that has brought untold suffering to Ukraine and, many believe, the world closer to nuclear conflict than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis 60 years ago.

So, where does the screenplay go from here?

Much depends on the answer to this question: how far is Vladimir Putin prepared to go to secure victory – or to avoid defeat – in Ukraine?