What would push the West and Russia to nuclear war?
Nobody is sure. That is why Joe Biden is careful in sending more potent weapons to Ukraine
“The word ‘impossible’,” quipped Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s defence minister, “means ‘possible in the future’.” Javelin anti-tank missiles, forbidden by America when Vladimir Putin took the first chunks of Ukraine in 2014, came in a trickle from 2017 and then a flood when he invaded again in February. Stinger anti-aircraft weapons, similarly refused, arrived in March. And the long-awaitedhimars rocket launchers have been taking out command posts and weapons dumps far behind Russia’s front lines since June. F-16 fighter jets may come one day.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “The rungs of escalation”
Europe August 13th 2022
- What would push the West and Russia to nuclear war?
- Wrecked planes smoulder at Russia’s Saky airbase in Crimea
- Russia is forcing Ukrainian conscripts into battle
- Ukraine is on the edge of nervous breakdown
- Can anything stop Italy’s radical right?
- The mysterious French mustard shortage
- A changing climate is bad news for a continent that doesn’t like change
From the August 13th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Europe
Meet Europe’s Gaullists, Atlanticists, denialists and Putinists
As Donald Trump returns, so do Europe’s old schisms over how to defend itself
Inside Europe, border checks are creeping back
Voters and politicians are worried about unauthorised migrants
The EU is worried about sensitive exports to competitors and foes
A lot of bureaucracy will ensue
A day of drama in the Bundestag
Friedrich Merz, Germany’s probable next chancellor, takes a huge bet and triggers uproar
Amid talk of a ceasefire, Ukraine’s front line is crumbling
An ominous defeat in the eastern town of Velyka Novosilka
The French government’s survival is now in Socialist hands
Moderates attempt to move away from the radicals