Russia’s state-controlled TV has warned the public that nuclear war, where “everyone dies,” is now likely.
During recent broadcasts, state media outlets are saying nuclear war appears to be “a given.”
The Russian people are warned that “everyone will be destroyed” if the West “pushes us into a corner.”
One propagandist even suggested Western countries are the nuclear aggressors.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been recently ramping up nuclear rhetoric amid his ongoing invasion of Ukraine and the resulting global tensions.
Another media outlet warned that “taboos” associated with nuclear attacks “could be lifted in certain circumstances” by Russia.
The exchanges among commentators on Russian state TV were captured and translated by Julia Davis, a Russian media analyst.
There was palpable frustration in the Russian media that many in the West misunderstood what Putin said—he was threatening the West, not Ukraine, with nuclear strikes. And so, droves of propagandists have been sent out to tell the West: push us into a corner and everybody dies. pic.twitter.com/quXcMZd7SE
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) September 23, 2022
Davis said there is currently “palpable frustration in the Russian media that many in the West misunderstood what Putin said – he was threatening the West, not Ukraine, with nuclear strikes.
“And so, droves of propagandists have been sent out to tell the West: push us into a corner and everybody dies.”
She was referring to Putin’s address to the nation on Wednesday.
During the speech, he pledged to use “all means” at his disposal to protect Russia’s territory.
In comments translated by Davis, one commentator, Igor Korotchenko, said in front of a big screen backdrop of missile launches: “The West has to understand: if certain weapons exist, taboos and limitations on using them could be lifted in certain circumstances.”
In an impassioned broadside against the West, another propagandist, Olga Skabeeva, suggested Russia is the victim of Western aggression: “We will not allow the destruction of our country.
“If you’re trying to destroy us, you will be destroyed along with us.
“What should we do to avoid nuclear war, or is it already a given?
“It certainly seems that way.
“If they don’t stop it will become a reality.”
Skabeeva, who said last week Moscow should have bombed the UK during the Queen’s state funeral, added: “Push us into a corner, everyone will be destroyed.
“Is that what they’re trying to achieve?
“Putin said it so succinctly, so clearly.
“We aren’t threatening war… we don’t want a nuclear winter or nuclear war.
“But if you declare that we will be destroyed, we will have to destroy you.”
Putin first propagated the specter of nuclear war shortly after he launched the invasion of Ukraine in late February.
He put Russia’s nuclear forces on “special” alert following the West’s so-called “unfriendly” response in the form of sanctions.
Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, warned: “The probability that Russia would use nuclear weapons has always been low, but it is higher than it was because there are fewer alternatives.
“That does not mean it’s likely because it’s not costless.”
Meanwhile, British government officials fear that the threats from Russia should be taken seriously and must not be ignored.
Former defense minister Liam Fox warned not to underestimate Putin’s threats: “We have miscalculated with Putin before.
“We can’t afford to miscalculate again.
“He is a tyrant with a tyrant’s behavior.”
Fellow backbench Tory MP Bob Seely also urged: “We have to assume that he may well use them so that we can plan.
“That is the purpose of assuming use, so we can plan.
“To say he is bluffing means that we don’t have a plan, and we will again, as we have been doing since 2007, be playing catch-up with a disastrous situation with a fascistic Russian state.”
