The Risk of Nuclear War is Real: Revelation 16

A Russian army RS-24 Yars ballistic missile system moving through Red Square during a military parade, in Moscow, in 2020.Pool photo by Pavel Golovkin

As Russia Digs In, What’s the Risk of Nuclear War? ‘It’s Not Zero.’

A series of shifts in Russian statements about using nuclear weapons has led some analysts to believe that the Kremlin sees a nuclear exchange as a viable strategy.

March 16, 2022Updated 11:11 a.m. ET

A major war raging on Russia’s and NATO’s borders. Increasingly bold Western military support. Russian threats of direct retaliation. A mood of siege and desperation in the Kremlin. Growing uncertainty around each side’s red lines.

As Russia and NATO escalate their standoff over Ukraine, nuclear strategists and former U.S. officials warn that there is a remote but growing risk of an unintended slide into direct conflict — even, in some scenarios, a nuclear exchange.

“The prospect of nuclear war,” António Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, warned this week, “is now back within the realm of possibility.”