Edition

Zelenskyy's Demand: NATO or Nuclear Weapons - Proliferation News 10/22/24

IN THIS ISSUE: Zelenskyy: We Need NATO or Nukes … and We Want NATO, Putin Says Russia Won't Let Ukraine Obtain Nuclear Weapons, Missiles Roll Across Northwest Russia in Test of Nuclear Unit, China's Xi Urges Missile Troops to Boost Deterrence, Combat Capabilities, Taiwanese Missile Units Are Giving Away Their Positions to China, Russia Calls US Statements on Readiness for Nuclear Talks 'Deception'

Published on October 22, 2024

Seb Starcevic | Politico 

Ukraine’s survival can only be ensured by joining NATO or giving Kyiv nuclear weapons, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said…“Who gave up nuclear weapons? All of them? No. Ukraine. Who is fighting today? Ukraine,” he added. “Either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons and that will be our protection or we should have some sort of alliance. Apart from NATO, today we do not know any effective alliances. “NATO countries are not at war. People are all alive in NATO countries. And thank God. That is why we choose NATO. Not nuclear weapons,” Zelenskyy said.

Reuters 

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday Russia would not let Ukraine get nuclear weapons, after Ukraine's leader said that since Kyiv had given up its Soviet-era nuclear arms, it must join NATO. Putin said any move by Ukraine to get nuclear weapons could not be concealed and would draw an appropriate Russian response. "Russia will not allow this to happen, no matter what," he told reporters. 

Mark Trevelyan | Reuters 

Russia is testing the readiness of a missile unit that forms part of its strategic nuclear forces, the defence ministry said on Friday, in the latest of a series of warning signals to Ukraine and the West. The test is taking place in the Tver region, northwest of Moscow, in the same week that NATO conducted its annual nuclear exercise and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy unveiled his "victory plan" for the war. The inspection involves a unit equipped with Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles, which have a range of up to 11,000 km (6,835 miles) - far enough to strike U.S. cities - and are capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads. Troops are practising moving the missiles in the field over distances of up to 100 km (62 miles) under camouflage and protecting them against air attack and enemy sabotage groups, the ministry said.

Antoni Slodkowski | Reuters

Chinese state media reported on Saturday that President Xi Jinping on Thursday inspected a brigade of the People's Liberation Army's Rocket Force, urging the troops to boost their "deterrence and combat capabilities". During the inspection Xi also urged the strategic missile troops to "resolutely fulfil the tasks entrusted by the Party and the people," state news agency Xinhua said. The PLA Rocket Force, which oversees the country's conventional and nuclear missiles, has been tasked with modernising China's nuclear forces in the face of developments such as improved U.S. missile defences, better surveillance capabilities and strengthened alliances.

Paul Huang | Foreign Policy 

The Chinese article exposed several exact locations across Taiwan where Hai Feng units were deployed in a shoot-ready posture on May 23. Pictures showed the units with their launchers raised and using camouflage nets. One squadron was located in the parking lot of a beachside resort hotel in Yilan in northwestern Taiwan, another in the parking lot of a marine aquarium near the port of Taichung, Taiwan’s second-largest city. In the southernmost tip of Taiwan, a squadron was in a parking lot inside Kenting National Park.As it turned out, the Chinese company did not employ any secret leak or cutting-edge hack. These units were all spotted and revealed by Taiwanese themselves—some by journalists and others by civilians in the area who uploaded the photos to social media.

Reuters

Recent statements by U.S. President Joe Biden's administration that Washington is ready for nuclear talks without preconditions with Russia, China and North Korea are a "deception," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. "The call to talk about strategic stability, about control over nuclear weapons without preconditions is a deception," Lavrov told the news outlet Argumenty I Fakty in remarks published early on Monday."What does 'without preconditions' mean? This means that the Americans reserve the right to declare us an enemy in their doctrinal documents."


Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.