- “We’ve already sanctioned/cutoff Russia in every possible way, so what more do they have left to lose?”
- In his proposal, Musk wrote that this outcome was “highly likely,” and the only question was “how many die before then.”
- U.S. intelligence reports estimate Russia currently has around 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons in its arsenal.
The prospect of nuclear war and World War III starting over Ukraine is something the richest man in the world wants the West to take more seriously as Russia’s control over Crimea, which it illegally acquired in 2014, is called into doubt as reported by Yahoo.
Nuclear arsenal
“If Russia is faced with the choice of losing Crimea or using battlefield nukes, they will choose the latter,” Elon Musk wrote in a tweet on Monday.
He continued: “We’ve already sanctioned/cutoff Russia in every possible way, so what more do they have left to lose?
If we nuke Russia back, they will nuke us and then we have WW3.”
Some experts fear that Russia’s nuclear arsenal could be the powder keg behind a third global war.
And with the war showing signs of intensifying after a strategic bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula was bombed this month, Musk says that moment could be even closer than first thought.
Musk and Ukraine
Earlier this month, Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, made waves when he suggested that the two sides reach a compromise before the use of nuclear weapons escalates the conflict into World War III.
He did so by sharing his view on what a peaceful resolution in Ukraine would look like, including Ukraine remaining neutral and permanently ceding control of Crimea to Russia.
In his proposal, Musk wrote that this outcome was “highly likely,” and the only question was “how many die before then.”
Many in the Ukrainian government took Musk’s argument as pro-Russian, while the Kremlin expressed support for some of his points.
Some commentators have even alleged that Musk has been in direct contact with Putin to discuss the Russian president’s goals in Ukraine, while this week former U.S. diplomat and Russian affairs expert Fiona Hill said Musk might be “transmitting” messages from Putin.
Global war threats
If Putin was holding back on nuclear threats in the first few months of the war, he certainly isn’t now.
Putin’s veiled nuclear threats mostly revolve around the use of tactical nuclear weapons.
There were approximately 22,000 tactical nuclear weapons in Russia by the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, although many have since been dismantled.
U.S. intelligence reports estimate Russia currently has around 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons in its arsenal.
Roubini added that the chances of a new global war were also rising because of growing tensions between the U.S. and China over the future of Taiwan, which could spark a new global “hot war.”
“I believe the next five to 10 years is going to be the time when there is going to be a confrontation between the U.S. and China on the issue of Taiwan,” Roubini said. “We don’t know when that’s going to happen or how it’s going to be resolved, but that’s where we get to World War III.”
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Source: Yahoo
