By BARBARA SIMPSON
Who would have imagined as we celebrated the New Year in January, that just weeks later, we would be confronted with a war that could escalate to match World War II and along with it, the real possibility of a worldwide nuclear contamination.
Those of a certain age remember when students in schools were practicing “duck and cover” under their desks, in case of “THE BOMB.”
In those days, the fear was the atomic bomb, and while children ducked, many of their parents had bomb shelters built on their property, with hope for protection if the worst came to pass.
Thank God, it never did and the fears subsided as the war ended.
But the dangers of nuclear contamination remained and still do.
We saw what that could mean when the nuclear reactor number 4 at the power plant in Chernobyl, in Ukraine, exploded. It was early in the morning on April 26, 1986, and as the word spread across the world, so did the fallout radiation.
Radiation was detected across Europe and even in Alaska. It affected plants and animals and humans and the radioactive dust remains as dangerous today as it was then, even though the entire area has been closed off from the public since then.
There were four reactors at Chernobyl — one exploded and the remaining three have been decommissioned. The remains of the exploded one have been covered by a huge concrete shell — estimated to weigh 32,000 tons. The radioactive fuel from the other reactors is stored at the site as is waste from the explosion.
So why is there any concern today? Because the fighting in Ukraine involves the Chernobyl area and it is known that Russian troops have been in the area — the plant has been under occupation since February 24.
While the area has not been directly “attacked,’ the fact that there has been troop movement and heavy fighting in the area which stirred up radioactive dust, radiation levels have increased 20 times above the usual. It’s reported that Ukrainian military expert Anna Kovalenko said that workers at the plant who monitor and maintain radiation at safe levels have been taken hostage by the Russians.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted: “Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated.”
He called what is happening “A declaration of war against the whole of Europe.”
In fact he was a bit early with that because, since then, Vladimir Putin has escalated things himself — not only is his conventional attack on Ukraine to continue, he had ordered his top military command to put the Russian nuclear deterrent forces in a “special regime of combat duty.”
He has said that he did that because of the “aggressive statements” by NATO and other countries against Russia and the steps they have taken to carry out their threats of retaliation — involving everything from shutting down flights in and out of Russia, to sports teams refusing to compete with the Russians, to severe restrictions on banks and monetary transactions with the country. Essentially, the West is tightening the screws on the entire country.
As a result of all of this, Putin is ready to use nuclear weapons as the war continues — and it is a war he intends to “win,” whatever that means.
Given the lack of knowledge of world affairs of most American citizens, it will be interesting to see how they react to the threat. I don’t have a lot of confidence that the average guy on the street knows why Russia is attacking Ukraine, much less where Ukraine is.
Do you think they realize the terrific danger of the fighting ending up in a nuclear confrontation between the West and Russia? Americans have long felt that we win our wars and, indeed, that has been the fact of history. We have never been in a nuclear war and despite the “desk hiding” and the “bomb shelters,” we’ve never faced such a reality.
Judging by comments of those who analyze such things politically, it appears that we face the possible reality of it now. Despite the comments by many who raise questions about the state of Putin’s mind, it matters not, in reality. He is the top guy in Russia and so far, what he decides for the Russian military is what happens.
Despite all the political commenting, the fighting in Ukraine continues and more cities have been taken by Russian troops. As I write, it’s reported that four cities have been taken but the capital of Kyiv, a city of three million, is still free though besieged.
Hundreds of thousands of people are trying to leave the country — it’s estimated that 442,000 have gotten out — most to Poland. Tens of thousands are still trying to get out to safety. Roads are jammed as are trains. Air travel is all but impossible.
This is especially so in Russia as well. Thousands are unhappy about the war and want to get out of their country. There are demonstrations across the country against the war. There are runs on their banks. It’s reported that more than 1,700 Russians in 54 cities have been arrested for protesting the Ukraine war. It’s clear that many Russians are more than unhappy about Putin’s actions.
None of this should have happened because in 1994, during the Clinton administration, the Budapest Memorandum on Security was signed by the United States, Great Britain, and Russia. It was a promise by those countries to ensure Ukraine’s safety from attack.
It was a promise to respect its sovereignty, declare the inviolability of its international borders, and abstain from threat or use of force.
Ukraine, which at the time had the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world, agreed to the Memorandum. As part of the deal, it relinquished upward of 3,000 nuclear weapons — all of them. It showed they trusted the countries signing the agreement.
As it has turned out, Russia turned against them and is in the midst of a determined effort to take over the country.
What makes it worse, and what will be a stain on our history, is that President Biden has done virtually nothing to defend Ukraine. The same is true for Great Britain. So much for agreements.
Putin has looked at Biden and has seen a weak man who has refused to take a firm position to defend the freedom of a democratic country we had promised to defend.
The same can be said of Great Britain — they are virtually nowhere to be seen in defending Ukraine. So much for the memorandum.
Putin has revealed himself to be a dictator, ruthless and conniving and not to be trusted. The future of Ukraine hangs in the balance and the real possibility of another World War — number 3 — is there. Putin has said as much. It would affect all of us.
While all this goes on, there is China — another ruthless country which has already shown it will hurt us — the U.S. — in any way it can.
So get ready — almost anything can happen — and none of it will be good. And our president is in Delaware at his house, and remains silent on the threat.
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