Part 3 of 3 Parts (Please read Part 1 & Part 2)
I have just written a two part blog about escalating nuclear tensions between Russia and the NATO alliance. I am extending this article to three parts because of something that happened on the day after I wrote it. Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, and members of his administration have been trying to intimidate members of NATO and other European nations with talk of "retaliation" for actions that the Russian government views as provocative. I alluded to this in the previous two sections and today I am going to cite more examples.
A report issued in November of 2014 by the European Leadership Network, a London-based think tank, detailed nearly 40 incidents (of Russian provocation) that together “add up to a highly disturbing picture of violations of national airspace, emergency scrambles, narrowly avoided midair collisions, close encounters at sea, simulated attack runs, and other dangerous actions happening on a regular basis over a very wide geographical area (in Europe)."
Back in April, the Russian ambassador to Denmark wrote an opinion piece in a Danish newspaper. He was complaining about reports that Denmark was considering installing radar on some of its naval vessels as part of the NATO European missile defense shield. The Russian ambassador said that if Denmark did install the radar systems, then those vessels would become possible targets of Russian nuclear weapons. The Danish foreign minister said that the ambassador's comments were "unacceptable" but then went on to downplay the Russian threats.
In June, Russia carried out a massive military exercise on its northern border. The exercise was a mock invasion of northern Norway including some islands belonging to Sweden and Denmark. Control of this territory would make it difficult if not impossible for NATO to reinforce the Baltic States in the face of a Russian invasion. I have already written about Russian threats to the Baltic States in a previous section of this article.
In July, the Russian ambassador said that Russia would take "counter measures" if Sweden joined NATO. He said, "Putin has pointed out that there will be consequences, that Russia will have to resort to a response of the military kind and re-orientate our troops and missiles," and, "The country that joins NATO needs to be aware of the risks it is exposing itself to." The Russian ambassador was immediately summoned by the Swedish government to explain what he meant.
As I mentioned in the Part 2 of this article, this autumn the U.S. is deploying twenty of the new B61 nuclear tactical weapons to an airbase in Germany. These bombs have variable yield, are highly accurate and can be carried by stealth fighter planes. They were deploy partly in response to Putin's threat to use tactical nuclear weapons in a potential future conflict with NATO forces.
After I posted Part 2 of this article yesterday, I read that Russia is very upset about the deployment of the B61 bombs to Germany. Upon receiving the information that the U.S. intends to send these new bomb to Germany this autumn, the Kremlin stated that "This could alter the balance of power in Europe. And without a doubt it would demand that Russia take necessary countermeasures to restore the strategic balance and parity."
The Putin administration in Russia is obviously testing the resolve of NATO. They appear to be bent on escalating provocations with the intent of baiting NATO into taking steps that Russia can use as an excuse for seizing territory in Eastern Europe. If Russia continues on this dangerous course, sooner or later, NATO is either going to have to take action or allow Russia to annex parts of Eastern European countries. I really hope that this confrontation does not escalate into a full nuclear war between Russia and NATO.
Russian Tupolev TU-95 nuclear bomber:
