While he has not spoken with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan recently, the US has communicated its strong response to a possible use of tactical nuclear weapons to Russia through various channels. The West would respond to such an attack with a NATO-led operation. All conventional Russian troops on Ukraine’s battlefields would be decommissioned, as would Crimea and all Russian ships in the Black Sea, Petraeus said.
According to Petraeus, if radioactivity released during a possible use of nuclear weapons were to spread to NATO territory, Article 5 of the NATO treaty – the duty of all NATO countries to provide assistance – could become effective. “Maybe we can turn this into an Article 5 case,” the former general continued. “The other case is that this is so terrible that there has to be an answer.” The mission cannot go unanswered. Nobody wants a nuclear escalation. “But you have to show that this is unacceptable,” Petraeus said.
Portal/Sputnik Russian President Vladimir Putin
Take Moscow’s Threats “Seriously”
Petraeus added: “They don’t want to go into nuclear escalation again here. But you have to show that it cannot be accepted under any circumstances.” He believes the leadership in Moscow is “desperate.” It could always get worse for Russian President Vladimir Putin and for Russia. But even the use of a tactical nuclear weapon on the battlefield would not change that, in his assessment. , Moscow’s threats with nuclear weapons must be taken seriously.
EU military: ‘out of the question’ military response
According to the assessment of the EU’s highest military, a Russian use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine would not be answered militarily. In that case, the case of the NATO alliance would not occur either, said the head of the EU Military Committee (EUMC), Robert Brieger, the “Kurier” (Sunday edition). “I think a military response is out of the question as long as such an operation is limited to Ukrainian territory.”
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The use of tactical nuclear weapons has been part of Russian military doctrine since the Cold War, said the former Austrian chief of staff. “Still, I consider the deployment unlikely because it would entail incalculable risks. I prefer to believe that it is an attempt by Putin to destabilize the public in the West,” Brieger said. In response to the use of nuclear weapons, he hopes that sanctions against Russia will be tightened.
Brieger has headed the EU’s military committee since May. The heads of cabinets of the 27 EU countries belong to this body. It is the highest military body in the European Union, but it only has an advisory role. Foreign ministers take decisions on EU military operations.
Heaviest destruction by tactical nuclear weapons
Tactical nukes, also known as battlefield nukes, can be used in a similar way to conventional weapons to fight enemy forces. The “advantage” of this weapon is that it can be transported and fired quickly by truck, as the head of the German Army’s NBC Defense Center Colonel Jürgen Schlechter recently explained.
However, the term “tactical” can be misinterpreted. These weapons can cause “the greatest destruction and release considerable radioactivity,” says Schlechter. The extent of damage depends on the explosive force and type of detonation.
In the event of a ground detonation, radioactive material from the earth is transported up to a height of several kilometers in the atmosphere, which then, depending on the wind, falls back to the ground as “radioactive fallout” and can cause widespread radiation. An air detonation creates a “Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse” (NEMP), which can lead to extensive destruction of electronic systems, comparable to a blackout.