Russia’s nuclear threats demand careful evaluation, and deterrence remains an effective strategy under current conditions.
Lukas Mandl, an MEP from the Austrian People’s Party, shared his views in an exclusive comment to Ukrinform’s correspondent in Vienna.
“We have to balance everything we analyze from Putin’s Russia. I’m striving for a ban of nuclear weapons generally, but as long as evil powers hold nuclear weapons, deterrence will be a solution, and I trust in deterrence also in that area,” Mandl said, commenting on Putin’s recent nuclear threats.
He emphasized that not only Ukraine has been attacked with a fully-fledged war of military aggression, but “all Europe has been attacked with hybrid means and measures of warfare.”
“We will help Ukraine to tackle the military aggression, we will continue to do so, and we will by that way also help ourselves against these attacks, and I look forward to a prosperous future in a peaceful Europe, in full liberty, including Ukraine,” the Austrian MEP said.
Early on November 21, Russia struck Dnipro with an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Soon after, Putin announced that an Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile was used in the strike.
At the CSTO summit in Astana, the Russian dictator said that future Oreshnik strikes could target “decision-making centers in Kyiv.” He also warned that in the event of the massive use of these missiles, “the power of the strike will be comparable to the use of nuclear weapons.”
Source: MEP on Putin's nuclear threats: Assessments must be approached with caution
