Across the world, there is an existing risk of a nuclear war when Russian President Vladimir Putin activated his nuclear defense forces.
Those who remember the Cold War era of the US-Soviet confrontation took the threat seriously, and people marched in the streets for peace and disarmament, and cheered when US President Ronald Reagan and the Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev declared in 1987 that “a nuclear war can never be won, and should never be fought!”
The very existence of nuclear weapons magnify the dangers, as one nuclear warhead can destroy an entire city, potentially killing millions, and jeopardizing the natural environment and lives of future generations through its long-term catastrophic effects.
The dangers from such weapons arise from their very existence.
All nuclear powers — the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (US, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom) as well as Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea — need to face up to their responsibilities and work together to reduce — and ultimately eliminate — their nuclear stockpiles.
But is nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament even possible?
Recently, the threat of using nuclear weapons was brandished by Putin, warning in a speech that he has the weapons available if anyone dares to use military means to try to stop Russia’s takeover of Ukraine, and this pronouncement could lead to a nuclear war through accident or miscalculation.
By merely suggesting a nuclear response, Putin put into play the disturbing possibility that an apocalyptic scenario of a nuclear war, which would result in the terrifying idea behind the strategy of mutual assured destruction (MAD) – a balance in nuclear capabilities that was meant to keep hands on each side off of the atomic trigger, knowing that any use of the doomsday weapons could end in the annihilation of both sides in a conflict.
When it came to fighting off a Russian invasion, Ukraine remained on its own because it is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and does not qualify for protection under its nuclear umbrella.
US President Joe Biden is also aware of the danger of nuclear war between Russia and US/NATO since the emergence of the crisis with Ukraine.
The West has declared that NATO will implement extraordinary sanctions to gradually strangle the Russian economy, but would not be sending troops into Ukraine because it could trigger direct fighting between the US-NATO and Russia, leading to nuclear escalation, and possibly, World War III.
Ukraine may be very far from the Philippines but whatever is going on in that part of the world is affecting our country and the rest of the world without exception.
Although there are indeed no winners in any war, only losers, in the eventuality that a full-blown war breaks out in Europe, it will impact food supply and energy markets, as well as the economic and financial stability of the whole world.
The Ukraine crisis and its economic impact taken together is like a double whammy for developing countries like the Philippines, that are just trying to bounce back from the devastating economic effects of the CoViD-19 pandemic.
We can’t stop praying for Peace.
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