The Lead

New Attack on Russia’s Early-Warning Radar at Armavir: NATO’s ‘Chicken Game’ with Nuclear Weapons Is On

by Dennis Small,Paul Gallagher (EIRNS) — May. 29, 2024

Three “Ukrainian” drone/missile attacks in a week on Russia’s early-warning radar system—the most recent one in the early morning of May 29—have brought the world to the edge of a breakdown in global strategic security, and a nuclear war. The attacks fulfill one of Russia’s stated policy conditions for counterattack with its nuclear missile forces. Whether the NATO powers have themselves ordered and supplied these Armageddon-like attacks from Ukraine—which seems more than likely for both political and technical reasons—or have failed to stop Ukraine’s desperate leadership from launching them, the resulting “Chicken Game” with nuclear weapons is on.

During the night of May 22-23, a drone attack originating in Ukraine hit one of Russia’s 10 over-the-horizon early warning radar systems—near the city of Armavir in southwestern Russia. A second attack occurred against another radar facility in Orsk on May 26, and a third drone attack targeted Armavir again on May 29—these last two reportedly producing no damage.

These attacks, purportedly by Ukrainian-launched drones, are in fact high-stakes NATO-sponsored attacks on Russia’s sophisticated radar network which gives it the ability to detect incoming ICBM attacks with enough time to respond. According to leading experts in the field, blinding Russia at one or more radar sites lowers the threshold for nuclear war by dramatically reducing Russia’s available response time down from about 15 minutes from detection, to some 10 minutes or so—hardly enough time to safely determine if a reported launch is a false positive or the real thing. Russia’s standing nuclear warfare doctrine is to ignore the former, and respond with full nuclear force to the latter.

It is the height of strategic insanity to play this kind of nuclear chicken-game with Russia, the most powerful thermonuclear power on the planet, especially under conditions where they are already at war with NATO-armed forces in Ukraine. And yet that is exactly what Washington and London are doing, with most of NATO in tow—all the while proclaiming that “Putin is just bluffing.”

Most of the Global South, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with these deadly wars, including the continuing carnage in Gaza, or with the collapsing financial system which is fueling them. China is playing a leading role in presenting an alternative approach: through its role in the BRICS; its in-depth strategic association with Russia; its work with Arab nations on a joint approach to development; and most recently in working with fellow BRICS member Brazil to present a viable joint peace plan for Ukraine, based on mutual security and development for all parties—exactly the kind of approach that will also work in the Middle East, as best exemplified by LaRouche’s Oasis Plan.

The Schiller Institute launched a worldwide “Red Alert” press release and mobilization immediately upon learning of the May 22 attack on Armavir, taking the initiative to organize to stop the rapid escalation of the NATO-Russia war in Europe. That urgent mobilization will escalate further against the escalating war danger at the upcoming Friday, May 31 meeting of the International Peace Coalition (IPC), the 52nd consecutive Friday meeting of that grouping.

We urge you to be part of that process, and bring others to the IPC meeting with you.