In tones eerily reminiscent of the 1950s and ‘60s, we were treated this past weekend to new threats from the Russian government by way of its Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov:

“The work is at an advanced stage, and there is a clear intent to make corrections,” adding that the decision is “connected with the escalation course of our Western adversaries.” [Mark Trevelyan, Reuters, September 1, 2024.]

The “escalation” to which he referred was, of course, the continued resolve of the West to aid Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s 2-1/2-year war of attrition, euphemistically referred to (but only by Russia) as a “special military operation.”

And “the work” that is supposedly at an “advanced stage” is a change in Russia’s doctrine on the “use [of] nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear attack by an enemy or a conventional attack that threatens the existence of the state.” [Id.]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said from the very start — when his troops invaded Ukraine in February of 2022 — that anyone who tried to interfere would suffer “consequences that you have never faced in your history.” [Id.]

And the threats have continued ever since — from Putin, from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, from Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, from certified nutcase Aleksandr Dugin, and from every suck-up in Putin’s entourage.

But now they say they’re lowering the bar, though they didn’t say how low they were prepared to go. In an interview published on Sunday, Dmitry Peskov said that the West was “going too far,” and that Russia would do everything to protect its interests.

Nor did anyone offer a timeline for the completion of the new nuclear doctrine. Ryabkov said only that, “The time for completing this work is a rather difficult question, given that we are talking about the most important aspects of ensuring our national security.” [Id.]

Well, that’s helpful. In the meantime, we’d better be careful not to hiccup, lest it be mistaken for an act of aggression.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/3/24