The head of the United Nations has warned that nuclear annihilation is just a miscalculation. Opening a key conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in New York, António Guterres warned that the world was facing “a nuclear danger not seen since the height of cold war”. “Humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation,” he said, citing the war in Ukraine as a major factor.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said there could be “no winner” in a nuclear war and that it “should never be disengaged”. in a letter sent to attendees at the NPT conference. In February, Putin pointedly referred to Russia’s nuclear arsenal and warned outside powers that any attempt to interfere “would lead you to consequences that you have never encountered in your history.” Days later, he ordered Russia’s nuclear forces to be on high alert.
US to send $550 million in new arms tranche to Ukraine, including ammunition for increasingly important rocket launchers and artillery guns. Ukraine received a batch of four US-made high-mobility artillery rocket systems (Himars), Ukraine’s defense minister said on Monday.
The US has accused Russia of using Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant as a “nuclear shield”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was “deeply concerned” that Moscow was now using the plant as a military base and firing on Ukrainian forces from around it, calling Russia’s actions in around the plant “the maximum of irresponsibility”.