NATO does not have an “actual plan” in the event of a Russian nuclear strike, it’s been claimed.
Tensions have exploded between Russia and NATO as Russian leader Vladimir Putin has made many veiled statements about Russian nuclear weapons being launched and has recently stated Russia is carrying out nuclear exercises “to increase the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to carry out combat missions“, encompassing aviation and naval forces.
“There is no actual plan, no actual doctrine for NATO if Russia launched a nuclear attack, but, presumably, NATO would not be sitting still”, Irina Tsukerman, geopolitical analyst, told the Daily Express. “Before it even starts, there would be measures put in place to stop Russia. Nuclear attacks are planned, so NATO would have been aware of rumblings happening.”
According to Tsukerman, a nuclear attack would most likely be prevented before the weapons were physically launched.
“There would be defensive measures in place before a Russian nuclear attack even reaches any massive physical damage”, Tuskerman added. “The first thing to do would be to wipe out Russia’s military and declaw it by attacking major launch sites.”
Despite this strategy, some areas remain more at risk of a potential strike.
“Countries like Moldova, the Baltic states, Poland, would be extremely vulnerable to such attacks because of their strategic positioning and their preparations”, Tsukerman said. “For example, Poland has recently started buying modern weapons, but they haven’t been delivered yet, so they are extremely vulnerable right now.”
This comes as more troops from Belarus have been sent to the Polish border, sparking concerns for a potential attack. Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko has openly stated his battalions are at “full operational readiness” to stand toe-to-toe with NATO.
Despite the worrying circumstances, Tsukerman doesn’t believe a Russian nuclear attack is likely to happen soon.
“Russia is facing a lot of pressure from its allies, not just from the West,”, she said. “Russia and its allies are calculating strategy, and seeing that threats are quite powerful. I think Russia would think long and hard before actually doing something like that.
“Nuclear weapons are a trigger warning to Western powers, and they’re triggering political pressure. This is about fear-mongering, not actions so that the West will stop helping Ukraine and allow Russia to score a huge military win.”