Russian Official Blames US, West For Elevated Nuclear Threat

In addition to the threat of depleting America’s own military supply, a common reason given for discouraging continued U.S. aid to Ukraine is that it could provoke Russia to take a more aggressive stance toward the West.

A top ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin obliquely referenced such an escalation in recent remarks that denounced a “destructive” agenda being pursued by the U.S. and allies around the world.

According to Nikolai Patrushev, current policies across the West are increasing the threat of nuclear warfare or the use of other weapons of mass destruction. He went on to taunt the U.S., asserting that its intervention in Ukraine is part of a last-ditch effort to preserve its dominance on the world stage.

“The natural consequence of the United States’ destructive policies is the deterioration in global security,” Patrushev asserted, claiming that the risk for more widespread violence has increased because the “international arms control regime has been undermined.”

His nebulous remarks did not signal where he believes nuclear, biological or chemical weapons might be used, instead taking a broad swipe at the perceived damage America has inflicted around the world with its interventionist policies. 

“The Anglo-Saxons and the collective West as a whole are losing influence,” Patrushev insisted, going on to accuse the U.S. and its allies of conspiring with Ukraine for years to instigate a war with Russia.

He also referenced unsubstantiated claims that Ukraine was behind a drone attack on a nuclear waste warehouse in western Russia.

Patrushev’s rhetoric sparked widespread backlash across the U.S. and beyond, including from Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Senior Policy Director John Erath, who compared the former KGB agent to “that kid on the playground who always had to believe he or she had it better than everyone else.”

Erath went on to discount the basic premise of Patrushev’s argument, opining: “There is an obvious danger from equating security with larger numbers of nuclear weapons, but less often considered is the degree to which Russia is increasingly relying on its nuclear forces to maintain its self-perceptions as a great power, especially with the degradation of its conventional forces.”