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NUCLEAR OPTION
Five reasons Putin would ‘sacrifice EVERYTHING’ & fire nuke into space…& the terrifying chain reaction that would follow
Military experts have warned Putin could take "suicidal" decision to launch nukes into space.
A RAGING Vladimir Putin would "sacrifice everything" and fire nuclear weapons into space if he felt his grip on power was under threat.
US intelligence chiefs warned last week that Russia is planning to launch nukes into space that would destroy satellites in a "grave" threat to the world's security.
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Now military experts have warned that Putin would take the "suicidal" decision to launch the deadly weapons if he felt his grip on power was being threatened by Ukraine and the West.
Any move to detonate the nukes in space would destroy satellites, which would have "devastating" and "extreme consequences" for those back on Earth.
It would wipe out all communications, meaning people would be unable to call for ambulances or police, and it would knock out GPS satellites.
That would mean aircraft controllers would have serious difficulties communicating with and routing planes. Given the sheer volume of airline traffic, accidents could occur and hundreds could be killed.
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Juliana Suess, a Research Analyst at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank, told it would be "wrong" to think Putin wouldn't "sacrifice everything" by firing nukes into space.
Putin has already tested orbital weapons designed for blasting Western kit - such as the anti-satellite weapon, Cosmos 2543.
While the weapon was not armed with a nuke for its 2020 firing - there are fears future versions of similar tech could take the next step.
Retired US Army Brigadier General Kevin Ryan said he believes Putin would only deploy weapons of mass destruction as a "very last resort" if he felt his grip on the regime was "physically threatened".
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For Dr David Jordan, Co-Director of the Freeman Air & Space Institute at King's College London, Putin could make the disastrous knee-jerk reaction to fire nukes into space "because he can" or if "he thought he could get away with it".
He said Putin could also push the red button if he felt the war in Ukraine was going to end with his removal of power.
"He could do it out of spite. He might think, I've lost, so you're going to suffer as well," Dr Jordan told The Sun.
He said Putin could also launch nukes into space to unite the Russian population, and spin it by saying he "had to destroy enemy satellites to prevent an imminent Western threat".
If the Russian despot did fire nukes into space and pressed the red button, the explosion wouldn't just destroy one satellite.
Suess told The Sun: "A nuclear explosion in space would be indiscriminate and have long-lasting effects on the orbit in question.
"A nuclear detonation would wipe out a series of satellites in one go. Russia would be sacrificing their own satellites and space capabilities"
Russia will launch nuclear weapons into SPACE in 'grave' security threat, US fears
When detonated, the nuke would create a massive electromagnetic wave and release radiation into space.
And such a blast would indiscriminately destroy a vast swathe of commercial and government satellites that ordinary civilians rely on to use to make emergency calls on their phones and surf the internet.
There could also be a financial crisis as banks would lose the ability to track the moment that transactions occurred.
In major cities, traffic lines and railway signals will be defaulted to red, bringing transport to a standstill and potentially increasing the risk of crashes.
And the "devastating" chain reaction wouldn't stop there.
Militaries across the world rely on satellites to provide accurate, real-time guidance for weapons systems and aircraft, as well as detailed ground intelligence for their field agents.
A lack of secure satellite communications systems would also leave soldiers, ships and aircrafts cut off from their commanders and vulnerable to attack.
And Squadrons flying armed drones over the Middle East for instance would also lose control over the weaponry, leaving them vulnerable to interception by terrorist organisations.
And world leaders would struggle to communicate with each other to diffuse the mounting global tensions.
Indeed, Russia's nuclear weapon, which is still in the development stages, could trigger a chain reaction of collisions.
This could make it impossible to use satellites in low-Earth orbit for decades.
"The US would have the most to lose in terms of how many satellites they have and how dependent they are on satellites, but China would also lose," Suess said following the release of her RUSI report.
"So one might say that Russia has the least to lose in that aspect but I think it would be wrong to conclude that Putin would not also sacrifice Russia's way of life."
She added: "Depending on the orbit affected, everyday necessities such as navigation, banking and emergency services could be disrupted."
But Suess said launching nukes into space with the intent of "indiscriminately destroying and damaging satellites" would "alienate Russia even further".
"Russia would isolate itself from the few allies it has left, most notably China who have invested a lot and who would lose a lot with a detonation of a nuclear weapon."
She added: "No space power will be appreciative of a nuclear co-orbital threat hanging over their heads or satellites."
She added that at a time when Russia stands isolated from the West amid the Ukraine war, Putin "cannot afford to also lose allies such as China".
5 things that would happen if Putin launched nukes in space
If Vladimir Putin did launch and detonate nukes in space, chaos would ensue.
Here are 5 things that would happen:
- Commercial and military satellites go down
- Communications cut, meaning people cannot call 999
- Militaries would lose contact with armed drones
- GPS would go down, meaning navigation much more difficult and planes could crash
- Financial crisis as banks cannot track transactions
But Dr Jordan and Kevin Ryan said Putin could have the knee-jerk reaction and launch the nukes into space if he felt threatened.
Ryan, the former US Defence Attaché to , said Putin would only deploy nukes as a "very last resort".
He told The Sun: "He would only do it if he felt his grip on the regime inside of Moscow were physically threatened by an external threat.
"I have to believe that it is entirely likely that he knows that if he does take this approach he will lose the support of China and India."
Dr Jordan said Putin could deploy the weapons into space "if he thought he could get away with it" but explained that this would be unlikely given how debilitating it could be for Russia's ally China.
He said Putin would fire the nukes if he thought the public in Western democracies might turn on Ukraine and blame them for the move.
"Putin may be working on the calculus that the public in the Western democracies would blame Ukraine - a 'look what the Ukrainians made me do' approach' - and demand an end to the war."
But this could backfire as taking out satellites could prompt even greater support for Ukraine and lead to demands for Russia to be punished.
Dr Jordan also suggested Putin could deploy nukes into space if he wanted to "unite" the Russian population.
He said: "He might wish to unite the population of Russia by claiming that he has had to destroy enemy satellites to prevent some imminent western threat.
"After all, he controls the media and has a good record of his propaganda of a Western threat being taken seriously by the public.
"Much of the tub-thumping on Russian TV is directed at them, not the West.";
Dr Jordan said another reason why Putin may launch nukes would be if he felt that the war in Ukraine was going to end with his removal from power.
He said: "Some sort of dramatic gesture may be in order. Or he might do it out of spite, with the idea of 'I've lost, so you're going to suffer'."
Or he said Putin may launch the devastating weapons because "he can".
"He might not need much of an excuse beyond 'because I can'. It shows of Russian martial might and capability and that might be enough."
And Suess said: "Russia would only deploy such a weapon when Russia saw itself as having exhausted many other options, and when the loss of allies was no longer a relevant deterrent."
Ryan said that Russia will be developing the weapon so that Putin's foes will know that he is capable of destroying scores of vital commercial and military satellites "at the push of a button".
"Putin is using the development of these nukes as a threat to Nato and the US," Ryan added.
Dr Jordan agreed and said: "This is about deterring democracies from attempting to thwart Russia."
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The Ukraine war has sparked huge worries after Putin's top stooge warned the West they will be faced with "the end of everything" if it dares to threaten Russia.
And the prospect of conflict in space is becoming more and more likely as Russia and China both have space weapons that would seriously harm us if used in response to rising global tensions.
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