Is Russian invasion of Ukraine paving way for a worldwide nuclear war?

Russian troops cross the border of Ukraine on Thursday, launching a series of attacks against the country to commence its invasion. As the attacks on Ukraine continue, many countries have come forward and shown solidarity with the nation, leading to a significant divide in the world.

Till now, hundreds of casualties have been reported from Ukraine, while thousands of people have been displaced after the Russian airstrikes. Ukrainian forces are also fighting the invasion by Russia, and have said that they have killed thousands of Russian troops till now.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the nuclear weapons of the country are currently on high alert after “unfriendly” gestures were made by western countries amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Many world leaders and countries have come forward to condemn this move.

While top defence officials from the United States have said that the remarks of Putin are “unnecessary and escalatory”, the French government has said that though Russia has a large number of nuclear warheads, “NATO has nuclear weapons too.”

Russia has a massive hoard of nuclear warheads, which has gotten countries as well as civilians wondering if this could be the beginning of a nuclear war, which could cause potential mass destruction across the world.

Though the threat of a nuclear war is being calculated by experts, there are treaties in place that have been created to minimize the risk of such a situation. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, shortened to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), is an agreement with the same purpose.

The NPT has been signed by a total of 191 countries across the world with the intention to stop any potential spread of nuclear weapons across the world. There are three main parts to the agreement: non-proliferation, disarmament, and the right to peacefully use nuclear energy.

It must be noted that out of the nine major nuclear weapon-holding countries in the world, only five have signed the NPT. Countries that have not signed the NPT are India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea.

Tensions have been running high ever since Putin said that the nuclear weapons of the country were on high alert. Responding to this, French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had said on a TV channel, “I think Vladimir Putin must also understand that the Atlantic alliance (NATO) is a nuclear alliance. That is all I will say about this.”

It must be noted that NATO does not own any nuclear weapons itself but some of the missiles owned by the United States have been kept at five airbases across Europe.

The US also said that Russia has been fabricating the threats it is facing from the western countries to justify the attacks and invasion of Ukraine. A US official had said, as per media reports, “At no point has Russia been under threat from NATO. We have the ability to defend ourselves.”