Officials in Europe and the United States are reportedly in talks about how to try to deter Russia from completing its special military operation in Ukraine. They are running out of ideas as nukes become front and center in the conversation about how to proceed.
Almost immediately after Donald Trump was reelected president, Washington and its NATO allies launched talks about rushing more weapons to Ukraine before Trump gets inaugurated. Such weapons will be used by Volodymyr Zelensky deep within Russian territory, which Putin has warned will bring with it serious consequences.
"U.S. spy agencies have assessed that speeding up the provisions of weapons, ammunition, and material for Ukraine will do little to change the course of the war in the short term," The New York Times reported after speaking with U.S. officials who were briefed in the intelligence community's assessment of the situation.
"U.S. and European officials are discussing deterrence as a possible security guarantee for Ukraine, such as stockpiling a conventional arsenal sufficient to strike a punishing blow if Russia violates a cease-fire. Several officials even suggested that Mr. Biden could return nuclear weapons to Ukraine that were taken from it after the fall of the Soviet Union."
(Related: The other day, Moscow warned the West that even non-nuclear attacks out of Ukraine using NATO-U.S. weapons could warrant a nuclear response by Moscow.)
Is Putin waiting until Trump reenters Oval Office to make a move?
There are some officials in the Joe Biden regime who believe that Putin will back off for a few months and wait until Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, to make his next move.
"The escalation risk of allowing Ukraine to strike Russia with U.S.-supplied weaponry has diminished with the election of Mr. Trump," one official is quoted as saying, adding that Biden regime officials are under the impression that Putin "knows he has to wait only two months for the new administration."
The reason for this perception has to do with Trump's pick for Director of National Intelligence (DNI): Tulsi Gabbard, who is likely to take a more favorable stance on Russia than the current DNI. At the same time, Trump during his first term was aggressive against Russia, helping to:
• Ramp up sanctions on Russia
• Provide lethal arms to Ukraine, and
• Expel a large number of Russian diplomats from the U.S.
Back in September, Putin stated that he would prefer to have Kamala Harris in the White House rather than Trump for another four years.
"Trump has imposed as many sanctions on Russia as any president has ever imposed before, and if Harris is doing well, perhaps she will refrain from such actions," Putin said at the time.
Now that Trump won instead of Kamala, Putin is likely reassessing what to do, especially since a sizeable contingent of Americans believes that both Trump and Gabbard are secret agents of Russia.
"However, extensive investigations into Trump's ties to the Kremlin have come up empty," writes Kyle Anzalone for Antiwar.com. "Additionally, the Times reported last week that there was no evidence Gabbard was in any way an asset of Putin."
No matter how you slice it, tensions between the West and Russia are likely to continue escalating behind the scenes, even if most people are unable to see all this for what it is.
"I guess I'll need a bigger desk to hide under," is how one commenter put it, making reference to the grade school nuclear drills of old in which students and teachers alike would hunker under their desks as if a nuclear attack had just occurred.
Is all of this back and forth leading to World War III? Find out more at WWIII.news.
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