Every morning I wake up with a notification from my favorite Dutch news website and as usual: yet another one about Russia.

But wait. A terrorist attack in Russia? What?

A day after Putin’s 70th birthday a sudden explosion woke the city of Kerch in Russia.

The bridge, which was grandly opened on May 15th, 2018, by Putin himself, was blown up by a truck filled with explosions.

Some Ukraine officials responded with “Happy birthday Putin”, which.. doesn’t really help during these “difficult” times between the neighbors.

Slap in the Face for Putin

The attack on the Kerch bridge isn’t just an attack on Russia but also a personal attack on Putin. A real slap in the face. During the opening, Putin wanted to be the first one to cross the bridge. And well, let’s not forget it happened a day after his birthday.

During these difficult times between the neighbors, the bridge is used to stock inventory for the Russian soldiers. So, taking it down would be a big win for Ukraine. Not that I’m saying Ukraine is behind this explosion, but yeah, it’ll be a big win for them. (Especially after that attack in Zaporizhzhia by Russia, which injured over 70 people, including children.)

Whether it was Ukraine or not, the Ukrainian reaction to the explosion has been cheerful and thriving.

Putin gathered some of his people for a security council meeting, usually, these meetings aren’t that ordinary, but after such a major humiliation, it did make me question Russia’s next move.

Putin’s Response

A day after this meeting, Putin gave another speech on television stating that, based on his sources, the Ukraine Secret Service was behind this “terrorist” attack. During the tv statement, he announced that Russia launched a mass strike with long-range “high precision” against the Ukraine energy facilities.

For these past few months, Kyiv was pretty quiet, people started their lives again, and shops went back to business. But then Russia intervened with its missile strikes and dragged Kyiv back into the battle.

Putin responded. Not just with words but also with missiles all over Ukraine. Moments after the statement, several cities across Ukraine reported missile strikes, not just against energy facilities but also against civilians.

Putin stated that it will continue defending itself and that if the terrorist attacks continue, its response will be “harsh.”

Whatever he means with “Harsh,” I am almost sure that he is not leaving the nuclear options off the table, which does freak me out a bit. I have been reading several articles that analyze the usage of nuclear weapons, and they don’t look pretty. However, the moment that the Russian military boots up its nuclear systems (if they even boot up due to their chip shortage, they seem to be using semiconductors from kitchen appliances in military equipment), NATO will be alerted and can respond ASAP.

Now, I won’t turn this article into a whole nuclear-war vibe, but I do want to mention that Russia using tactical nuclear weapons doesn’t seem unlikely to me (even Elon Musk agrees on this)

I think that most governments across the globe have already made very clear to Mr. Putin that the usage of nuclear weapons will be very, very bad and that they won’t leave it unanswered. China probably already had a good chit-chat with Putin about the usage of nuclear weapons (and the war itself). A nuclear war would be very bad for business (the world economy), and so, also for China.

Erdogan Keeps things Cool

Turkish President Erdogan seems to have a good relationship with Zelensky and also gets along pretty well with Putin. So I guess that Erdogan also took Putin separately and told him not to use his wild nuclear cards. I am not sure how politicians talk privately to each other, but I guess that Erdogan made it very clear that NATO could respond “Tripple-harsh.”

As North Korea happily keeps testing their rockets, they are probably one of the few countries that are publicly supporting Russia’s moves. Still, I assume that the Supreme Leader of North Korea knows very well that a nuclear response from Russia to Ukraine could demolish North Korea country’s economy (even further), including its relationship with Russia (Sorry Kim, Russia can’t answer your call right now. Bit busy dealing with other nations atm).

Whatever Putin’s next step will be, the world is in high-alert mode, and I am sure governments across the globe are willing to stand up against Putin once he presses that red button, no matter the size of its tactical weapons. Nobody wants a nuclear war, and nobody will leave it unanswered.

China Erdogan NATO Nuclear War Opinion Putin rocket Ukraine United States Zelensky