Nuclear war worries in Europe after German politician's warning

After years of relative global peace, the menace of nuclear warfare is gradually regaining public attention. Triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, concerns about a potential nuclear strike by Moscow are escalating.

Vladimir Putin and his allies have been making nuclear threats ever since Russia kicked off its invasion and this has led officials from nations across the Western world to sound the alarm over the real threats coming from Russia. 

The latest Western leader to warn that nuclear war could be on the horizon came from a German Member of Parliament and leader of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance - Reason and Justice Party (BSW), Sahra Wagenknecht. 

Wagenknecht warned during an interview with the Funke media group that the conflict in Ukraine could result in a nuclear confrontation between Russia and NATO if the alliance of Western states becomes a party in the conflict. 

"If NATO becomes a party to the conflict in Ukraine, it will get to a point where Russia will carry out a strike on military facilities in NATO territory," Wagenknecht said based on a translation of her comments published by the Russian News Agency (TASS). 

"After that, the conflict will soon escalate into nuclear confrontation because this is the only field where Russia is equal to NATO. This is why it is so crazy dangerous that we are allowing ourselves to be dragged deeper into the conflict,” Wagenknecht added. 

Wagenknecht pointed out that Russia has been sending signals that it doesn’t want the U.S. Army on its borders and added that many Western politicians have said letting the Ukrianians integrate themselves into NATO’s structures will lead to war. 

It is important to note that Sahra Wagenknecht has been labeled pro-Russian by some news outlets and her left-wing populist party BSW has been referred to by the German news agency DW News as one of Putin’s "best friends in Germany."

Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance “are staunch critics of any military engagement. Their election manifesto states that war foments fear and leads to instability,” DW News noted, adding that BSW blames NATO and the United States for the war in Ukraine. 

Whether or not Ukraine will be allowed to join NATO has been a point of contention with many of the defensive alliance’s allies. Some are pushing for Ukraine to be allowed into the alliance while others worry about how the move could provoke Russia. 

In July 2024, the 32 NATO member states declared that Ukraine was on an irreversible path to joining the defensive alliance according to the Associated Press. “Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” alliance members said in a statement. 

“We will continue to support it on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership.” the statement continued. However, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico recently promised to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO. 

“As long as I am head of the Slovak government, I will direct the MPs that are under my control as chairman of the [ruling Smer] party never to agree to Ukraine's joining NATO,” FICO said during an appearance on a Slovakian program according to Politico.

Hungary has also been hostile towards Ukraine within the context of Kyiv’s relationship in the alliance. In May 2024, Hungary signaled it wanted to opt out of NATO aid to Kyiv, a condition NATO’s General Secretary agreed to in June 2024, according to Bloomberg. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has often insisted that a critical element of any future peace with Russia will include Ukraine being allowed to join NATO. However, this is an issue for Putin, who has noted he wants the opposite policy in a future peace deal. 

In June 2024, Putin laid out his terms for a ceasefire with Kyiv during a meeting with the country's ambassadors. These terms included Ukraine withdrawing from the partially occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, as well as Ukraine giving up on its ambitions to join NATO. 

 "As soon as Kyiv declares that it is ready for such a decision... an order to cease fire and begin negotiations will immediately follow from our side, literally at the same minute,” Putin said according to a report from BBC News. 

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