1985 Nobel Peace Prize winner Ira Helfand, MD, warned in an op-ed for The Nation that the current crisis between the West and Russia poses enormous risks to the entire planet.
Reflecting on the situation around Ukraine, he described the possible consequences of the current crisis around this country, which allegedly could escalate into a war between Moscow and Kiev. According to the author, as a result of a conflict involving conventional weapons, there will be a humanitarian catastrophe with thousands of victims and millions of refugees. And “in the event of a conflict spreading” beyond the Ukrainian borders, NATO forces will enter into hostilities, after which “a major war will break out” with the use of nuclear armed forces and “a real danger of the use of nuclear weapons,” he suggested.
The scientist said that the Russian Federation has 3,500 nuclear weapons, the United States has 1,750 warheads ready for use, another 400 units are possessed by the allies of the United States in the North Atlantic Alliance - Great Britain and France. According to Helpand, a 100-kiloton nuclear explosion over Moscow will result in 250,000 casualties, and a similar strike on Washington will kill 170,000 people. However, the conflict will not be limited to single events, and more powerful warheads will be launched.
“Russian SS-18 M6 missiles with 460 thermonuclear charges have a yield of 500 to 800 kilotons, and the W88 warhead installed on American Trident submarines is 455 kilotons,” the Nobel laureate continued.
Referring to a 2002 report, he pointed out that the number of victims in the United States in the first half hour could reach 78 million if Russia launched at least 300 warheads. In addition, the country's infrastructure will be almost completely destroyed. We are talking about transport, medical, food facilities.
“Within a few months after the attack, the vast majority of the US population will die from starvation, radiation sickness and epidemic diseases,” Helfand believes.
In the event of a similar strike against the Russian Federation, there will be the same consequences. If other NATO countries are also involved in the war, then there will be destruction in Canada and European countries.
“Global climate change will be even more catastrophic,” the scientist writes.
He added that even a more limited military conflict using just 250 100 kiloton warheads could reduce average global temperatures by 10°C, triggering "unprecedented famine." As a result, modern civilization will end, Helfand concluded.
Earlier, former US Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter said that the participation of the American army in the war against Russia over Ukraine would be “suicide” for it.
bbabo.Net