Will Putin now press the atomic button?

As reported by Alexander Smith,

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he held a “long and meaningful call” with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, a long-anticipated first contact between the leaders since Russia’s invasion 14 months ago." (NBC News : 26 April 2023) (my emphasis)
 

 Elena Salvoni and AFP: Mail Online: 26 April 2023

 

 But, as reported by Joe Mcdonald

"Chinese leader Xi Jinping faces daunting obstacles if he is serious about trying to help end Russia’s 14-month-old war in Ukraine.

The biggest: Neither side is ready to stop fighting." (The Globe and Mail : 28 April 2023) (my emphasis)

Joe McDonald further reports that,

"While Russia is trying to move borders by annexing portions of Ukraine, Beijing is intensely sensitive about respecting territorial sovereignty. It says borders must be respected and no country has a right to meddle in another’s affairs." (ibid Joe McDonald)

Elena Salvoni and AFP: Mail Online: 26 April 2023

 

Let us recall that recent 3 day visit to Putin in Moscow by China's President Xi Jinping.

 

As reported by Helen Davidson and Justin McCurry,

"Xi’s trip to Moscow has been viewed as a major boost for his strategic partner Putin, who is subject to an international criminal court warrant over accusations of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children. The Chinese leader is expected to continue to position himself as a potential peacemaker in the Ukraine war during his two-day visit to Russia – his first state visit since the invasion." (The Guardian : 21 March 2023) (my emphasis)

Furthermore, as reported by Katerina Ang and Christian Shepherd,

"China’s defense minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, hailed the “substantial achievements” of close cooperation with Russia’s military and said China is ready to deepen the partnership to “make new contributions to stability and security,” in the latest sign of Beijing’s commitment to its relationship with Moscow despite the war in Ukraine.

Li’s trip to Moscow, where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, follows similar recent visits by top Chinese leaders. Such displays of camaraderie have intensified concern that China is ready to provide lethal aid in support of the invasion." (The Washington Post : 17 April 2023) (my emphasis) (cf also: Namita Singh : Microsoft (The Independent) : 17 April 2023)

With this in mind, the euphoria about the call between Ukraine's president Zelensky and China's president Xi Jinping may be short-lived.

What is rather disconcerting, as reported by Peter Beaumont, Emma Graham-Harrison and Amy Hawkins, is that,

"Providing further details of the contact [between Ukraine's president Zelensky and China's president Xi Jinping], a report on Chinese state TV said Xi had told the Ukrainian leader: “Negotiation is the only viable way out,” adding: “There is no winner in a nuclear war.”  (The Guardian : 26 April 2023) (my emphasis)

The big question is : Why did Xi Jinping warn Zelensky that, “Negotiation is the only viable way out,” adding: “There is no winner in a nuclear war.” ?

Was this a signal to Zelensky that Putin is ready to "press the 'nuclear' red button"?

Underlining Putin's 'threat' of nuclear war we now have his 'glove puppet', Dmitry Medvedev, once again threatening that Putin is ready to unleash Armageddon upon the world.

As reported by Will Stewart, 

"Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev (left) has warned that the planet is on the verge of a nuclear world war, and Vladimir Putin is ready to be the first to press the atomic button.

Medvedev, one of Putin's closest henchmen, chose an audience of Russian teenagers to threaten Armageddon - blaming the West for the cliff edge." (Mail Online : 25 April 2023) (my emphasis)

 Further reinforcing Medvedev's claim that Putin is "ready to be the first to press the atomic button", Chris Jewers reports that,

"Russia is moving closer to a nuclear conflict with the United States due to Washington's support for Ukraine, Moscow has warned.

Vladimir Yermakov (right), the foreign ministry's head of nuclear non-proliferation, told TASS news agency that Washington is escalating the risks through its conduct with the Kremlin - the latest in a series of threats from top Russian officials." (Mail Online : 25 April 2023) (my emphasis) (cf also: Lidia Kelly : Reuters: 25 April 2023)

Does Putin's ramping up of the threat through his 'siloviki' acolytes to unleash 'nuclear' war upon the world tell us something about his 'mental' state because of the rapidly deteriorating state of his health?

It does seem that there is an urgency on the part of Putin to 'throw everything' at Ukraine to achieve some sort of 'victory' over Ukraine's fighting force.

As reported by Emma Graham-Harrison in Dnipro (left),

"Russia has launched a wave of missile attacks across many of Ukraine’s biggest cities, killing a mother and young child in the port city of Dnipro, and four people at a high-rise apartment building in the central city of Uman.

Air raid alarms were active across the country in the early hours of Friday morning, while explosions were heard in Kyiv, and southern Mykolaiv was targeted again.

The attack came less than 24 hours after four cruise missiles, apparently launched from the sea, hit civilian buildings in the city, killing at least one person and abruptly ending nearly four months of relative calm there." (The Guardian : 28 April 2023) (my emphasis)

Has the fact that Beijing is intensely sensitive about respecting territorial sovereignty, and that borders must be respected and no country has a right to meddle in another’s affairs, pushed Putin to be ready to be the first to press the atomic button? (cf: Will Stewart)

Will Putin now press the atomic button?

IMPORTANT! UPDATE 1: 29 April 2023

Micaela Burrow reports that,

"The U.S. deployed a special nuclear security team to install radiation detectors in Ukraine that could identify the origin of any nuclear weapon that attacks the country, according to The New York Times.
...
The Nuclear Emergency Support Team, a division of the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), is helping deploy sensors “throughout the region” that have the ability “to characterize the size, location and effects of any nuclear explosion,” a spokesperson for the agency told the NYT.

The sensors will deny Moscow “any opportunity to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine without attribution,” the spokesperson added." (Shore News Network: 28 April 2023) (my emphasis)

The deployment of this US 'Nuclear Security Team' to Ukraine underscores the growing concern that Putin may, indeed, 'press the atomic button'.

 

(to be continued)