“The risk of using nuclear weapons must always be taken seriously,” Kurt Volker on NUJU’s radiation safety training sessions

Western allies have fears about how Ukraine will liberate the Crimean peninsula, but this is due to a lack of understanding of how this will happen. This was stated by the former U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, at a meeting with journalists at American University Kyiv.

He considers it a mistake to imagine “marines on the beaches under the fire of artillery and planes.” The way to liberate Crimea might be to cut off the Russian occupation forces from the supply channels.

The First Secretary of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), Lina Kushch, who took part in the meeting, said that the Union conducts radiation safety training sessions for journalists and asked about the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons.

“The risk of using nuclear weapons must always be taken seriously, even if the probability is one percent. We must try to prevent it, take it seriously, and be ready if it happens. However, I think that this is unlikely,” said the diplomat.

There are three reasons why, according to Mr. Volker, Russia will not dare to use nuclear weapons:

“Firstly, Russia knows it will not survive a strategic exchange of nuclear weapons with the United States. Secondly, many countries told the Russians, “If you use nuclear weapons, there will be a direct response.” Not necessarily a nuclear one, but direct. Thirdly, using nuclear weapons is an action demanding the participation of several people. Putin may find himself in a situation where he gives the respective order, but his military decides to disobey. Therefore, this makes the use [of nuclear weapons] unlikely.”

NUJU Information Service