Tuewith the war in Ukrainemany warned of the possibility of imminent nuclear conflict.

Russia led by Vladimir Putinhas stated several times since the conflict began in February that it would not hesitate to resort to nuclear weapons if necessary.

Recently the UN Secretary General Anthony Guterres claimed that humanity was “extremely fortunate” to have escaped nuclear annihilation.

On the brink of conflict

At a conference of signatories to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Guterres explained that the risk has increased in recent months, something not seen since the Cold War.

“Until now, we have been extremely lucky, but humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation that separates from nuclear annihilation,” he said.

In 1968, with the goal of nuclear disarmament looming on the horizon, most countries signed the NPT. But four weapons-possessing (or suspected-possessing) countries never signed the deal: North Korea, India, Israel, and Pakistan. According to Guterres, this situation means that humanity is “very lucky” to avoid catastrophe.

“But luck is not a strategy or a shield against the escalation of geopolitical tensions into a nuclear conflict,” the UN Secretary General said, referring to the possibility of reaching an agreement on the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Blaming Russia in Ukraine

Russia has repeatedly warned throughout the conflict that it will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons, especially if other countries take the step of attacking them.

In addition, they accused Ukraine of trying to acquire nuclear weapons.