For once, the UN is right – we are on the brink of a deadly nuclear abyss

But there’s a reason this once-mocked decade suddenly seemed to hit the zeitgeist — we’re all beginning to worry that the world could end up in a catastrophic nuclear fire.

Forget the current fear of climate change for a moment – ​​we Generation Xers grew up fearing that the temperature could suddenly soar by about a million degrees in half a second if, as was likely then, madness reigned supreme and it came to one nuclear strike.

A few days after the invasion of Ukraine, I stayed up late to watch CNN’s coverage of the upcoming battles between the Russian invaders and the Ukrainian defenders.

One of the most terrifying live broadcasts I have ever seen featured live footage of a fierce battle
outside of the old Chernobyl reactor core, complete with audio of Ukrainian commanders imploring their Russian counterparts to withdraw immediately at risk of destroying the protective concrete barrier built to contain the deadly radioactive material.

The Russians did not heed such requests. As a result, many of their troops have since died of radiation poisoning from disturbing the irradiated ground while digging their trenches.

Combined with the increasingly deranged and bellicose threats of numerous Russian TV presenters, who now appear to be actively agitating for a nuclear strike against the West – including Ireland – it all feels like a very ugly example of deja vu.

While those of us who have warned of the renewed threat of nuclear attack were initially dismissed as cranks, on Monday came an announcement that should have us all trembling in our boots and searching Google for “nuclear shelters.”

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used his address to deliver a stark warning to the world. Even those of us who pay little attention to the normally mundane thunderstorms of this organization sat up and paid attention.

According to Guterres: “Humanity is but one misunderstanding, one miscalculation, from nuclear annihilation. We are now at a time of nuclear danger not seen since the height of the Cold War.”

Guterres warned of the chaos in Ukraine, as well as other relevant global issues, and urged the various leaders to return to the spirit of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which came into effect in 1970 and – fun fact – was so fueled by Irish diplomats that it became known as the Irish Treaty that shows we can beat our weight if we really want to.

Guterres mentioned the Middle East and North Korea as potential problems, but we all know there are really only two elephants in the room we should be afraid of – Russia and China.

While all eyes were obviously on the carnage unfolding before us each night in Ukraine, China has been paying close attention to the West’s response to Putin to see how far Beijing thinks it can go.

And how far does she think she can go? Well, the fact that it announced this week that it would simply shoot Nancy Pelosi if she even tried to visit Taiwan might lead many observers to conclude that China doesn’t care about the West’s reaction.

The country is newly emboldened by what it sees as a weak and sclerotic American president responsible for a soft and selfish society that just doesn’t have the guts to fight. It might even have a purpose.

However, while the events in the South China Sea could see the world drawn into a mutually destructive struggle, it is only common sense to focus on what is happening in Europe, and what is happening seems to be getting worse by the day will.

Contrary to popular belief, every humiliating defeat for Putin makes the world a more dangerous place. A man who appears to have given up even the semblance of sanity is surrounded by apparatchiks who have a big problem with their leader — and it’s not like he went to Ukraine at all. Instead, they complain hawkishly that he didn’t push hard enough.

It should be remembered that Russia is the only country among the major nuclear powers that reserves the right to use first-strike offensive tactics. Rather than nukes being a last-minute desperate Hail Marys as deployed by the other powers, they see tactical “baby nukes” as a perfectly legitimate weapon to deploy when they are losing ground. And they lost ground.

At least during the Cold War, calmer heads prevailed. The red hotline between Washington and Moscow provided a perfect funnel for confidential conversations, and crucially, none of the superpowers were being run by a madman.

That has all changed, completely changed.

Knowing that the only stick he has left to wave to the West is that he possesses the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, Putin is banking on numerous countries providing material support to embattled Ukrainians, but none for their sake risk the third world war.

This is bad. Really bad. In fact, it’s worse than it was at any time in the 1980s, and I really wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a mushroom cloud on our screens. Let’s hope there will be a coup d’état in Moscow, because this will be the greatest threat we have ever faced.