The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Defence Policy distinguishes between four types of WMD. While all WMD types are capable of causing massive levels of destruction, nuclear weapons pose the most serious threat to the world due to their particularly devastating power. According to NATO (2022), the global security environment has deteriorated significantly over the past decade, which increases the likelihood of a WMD attack. The Russian invasion of Ukraine was a serious factor in the escalation of the situation around potential WMD deployment. The Bulletin Science and Security Board (2022) shares NATO’s concerns, leaving the famous Doomsday Clock at 100 seconds to midnight. In other words, the world is dangerously close to a global nuclear apocalypse.
Much of the Russian problem is related to Vladimir Putin, or to be more precise, his personality issues and perception of global politics. According to Strozier and Terman (2022), Putin has a fundamentalist view of the world, where he and Russia represent decent, traditional values, while the West stands for everything immoral and disgusting. In Putin’s eyes, the war in Ukraine is less a pursuit of territorial or political gains and more of a fight against corrupt world order led by the loathsome Western civilization. While Putin is obviously delusional, he sees only two possible outcomes of the Ukrainian conflict — victory or humiliating defeat (Strozier & Terman, 2022). As such, a perspective of a humiliating defeat may give him the incentive to launch a desperate last-ditch WMD attack.
In the case of nuclear weapons, the global community has limited options for stopping Putin through direct action. The chemical, biological, and radiological WMD are a serious threat, but the impact of their deployment may be localized. However, a global nuclear war would undoubtedly result in billions of deaths and destruction unknown to humankind. No country, military, or political union can realistically prepare for such a scenario. Therefore, the global community should stop Putin from winning without driving him to the line of humiliating defeat. Assistance to Ukraine should remain continuous yet cautious and gradual. At the same time, the military and intelligence agencies should consider Putin a dangerous madman and closely monitor the situation in Kremlin. Otherwise, Putin may suddenly behave like a cornered rat, deploying strategic nuclear weapons and dooming the world to destruction.
References
Bulletin Science and Security Board. (2022). Bulletin Science and Security Board condemns Russian invasion of Ukraine; Doomsday Clock stays at 100 seconds to midnight. Web.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (2022). NATO’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Defence Policy. Web.
Strozier, C. B., & Terman, D.M. (2022). Putin’s psychology and nuclear weapons: the fundamentalist mindset. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Web.