2026-06-18

American politicians and nuclear war

Consider the escalations that have already occurred, and those that are now explicitly threatened by Russian and Ukrainian leaders:

"Putin officials threaten to escalate attacks after Moscow oil refinery blown up in Kyiv drone strike" | The Independent 
"Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned of “massive coordinated strikes on a regular basis” in response to the [Ukrainian] strikes, which hit [Moscow’s] oil refinery for the second time this week."
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-putin-trump-zelensky-g7-news-b2998092.html

Now let's see the threat from that darling of the West's political class, Volodymyr Zelenskyy:
"Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that “if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn” (12:44) as he ramped up his rhetoric after overnight drone strikes on the Russian capital (9:55, 11:41, 15:00)."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jun/18/ukraine-russia-moscow-strikes-nato-defence-ministers-hegseth-rutte-latest-news-updates 

Hello?
You don't need a Ph.D. in international relations or a codeword clearance to see that the possibility of this escalating yet further is, to put it mildly, too great for comfort.
Suppose Russia does launch devastating strikes on Kiev, and Zelensky follows through with his threat of devastating strikes on Moscow (does he have that capability? I don't know, but he says he does).
So then how will Russia respond?
They certainly have the capability to drop a nuke on Kiev.
And then what?
Both France and England have nuclear weapons. Would they use them?
Would Ukraine's supporters in the U.S. demand that America responds in kind? I'm sure we would hear that talk from some.

In my view, it would have been far better if 
1. America hadn't propped up Ukraine to the extent it has, 
which would have led to 
2. Ukraine being forced to accept the terms for peace that Russia has been offering for years. 
But oh no, in the minds of the decision makers that was something which had to be avoided.

The huge problem is that Ukraine's supporters in the West have allowed such escalation scenarios to become all too plausible.
With their comparisons of Putin with Hitler, Russia with Nazi Germany, and the 2020s with the 1930s.


=≠=======
 
Another escalation:

"Biggest ever UK drone package for Ukraine announced, including more than 120,000 drones, supplying cutting-edge battlefield technology"
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-announces-biggest-ever-drone-package-for-ukraine-to-push-back-putin

Does that make the UK party to the war?
If those UK-supplied drones start hitting critical targets in Russia, will Russia retaliate against critical UK facilities?


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The overall perspective is that some countries in Europe, and to some extent the United States as well, are in a de facto state of war with Russia, which has risen to the point where damaging strikes are being made on the Russian homeland. At what point will Russia decide to strike back? Have the relevant leaders seriously considered this question?