After Jarring Analysis of Ukrainian Nuclear Plants, CNN’s Blackwell Says ‘You Never Want Thermonuclear War to Be the Last Words In the Interview’
CNN’s Victor Blackwell opined you “never want thermonuclear war to be the last words in the interview” following a sobering segment about the nuclear element of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
It has been two weeks into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion of the country. Experts have cautioned about the potential the conflict could escalate.
Some have shared serious concerns that Russia might deploy nukes as its forces remain bogged down in Ukraine.
The country has also been cut off from much of the global economy.
Joseph Cirincione, the author of Nuclear Nightmares: Securing the World Before It Is Too Late, joined Blackwell and Alisyn Camerota on CNN Newsroom to address concerns about a nuclear threat in Europe.
Camerota asked Cirincione about a reported radiation leak at Chernobyl, which was seized two weeks ago by Russian troops.
She asked, “Have your fears been assuaged?”
“They have,” he responded. Cirincione went on to explain the complicated nature of the nuclear physics and the captured site of the 1986 meltdown at the former plant.
He also commented on Russia’s shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant near the city of Enerhodar.
He stated, “We have never seen a confluence of nuclear threats at one place at one time.”
Aside from the threat of nuclear reactor accidents, Cirincione also cautioned of the threat of nuclear war if Putin escalates.
“Once you start using nuclear weapons, there is no logical termination point,” he said. “Each side will try to match the other in kind. Each side thinking their move will be decisive, and then it escalates into a thermonuclear war.”
Cirincione explained that such a war can be avoided if each side commits to not using nuclear weapons.
Camerota responded, “Thank you very much, I feel slightly better.”
Blackwell then stated: “You never want thermonuclear war to be the last words in the interview.”
Watch above, via CNN.
