Ritter spoke about his book "The Road to Hell" dedicated to the danger of nuclear war

Former US intelligence officer Scott Ritter, at the presentation of his new book "The Road to Hell" on November 10, in an interview with Izvestia, expressed the opinion that people are now living on the verge of nuclear war.

"People believe that nuclear war is unthinkable, that it is so terrible that they cannot imagine it. And yet, today there are processes that, once they begin, cannot be stopped. People only realize this when it's too late and life is over. Therefore, we live on the brink of nuclear war every minute of every day until we change the existing policy," he replied to a question about the likelihood of using nuclear weapons in the near future.

According to him, the people in whose hands the nuclear weapons are located will act according to the instructions received. Consequently, he considers it necessary to make every effort to ensure that such an order is never given. Ritter positions his book as a call for vigilance for the whole society.

"The book is addressed to everyone who may be affected by the nuclear war. Ordinary people, businessmen, military, politicians — everyone should read this book. And not only for Americans, but also for Russians," he added.

In conclusion, the former officer said that in his understanding, victory would mean holding meaningful consultations with representatives of the American and Russian political elites on nuclear safety issues and finding ways to reduce this threat.

Keeping your hand on the remote control: what is the reason for training strategic nuclear forces

What samples were tested and what did the exercises demonstrate?

On November 5, US President Donald Trump instructed the Ministry of War to begin testing nuclear weapons "on equal terms" with Russia and the People's Republic of China (PRC). Andrei Kolesnik, a member of the State Duma Committee on Defense, in turn, stressed that the United States' plans for nuclear weapons lead to escalation.

On the same day, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was testing the Burevestnik and Poseidon in order to cool down "hotheads" who were ready for rash actions. According to him, the Russian Federation is developing its weapons systems as a shield against "hotheads" in order to guarantee the country's security.

On November 7, Kolesnik expressed the opinion that the exercises under the scenario of war with Russia, which had previously taken place in Europe, could be explained by the ongoing escalation. According to him, such exercises conducted in Norway are not the first — they were also held in the port of Stavanger during the Soviet Union and in the early 1990s. At the same time, Kolesnik added that this is already the level of the exercises, which should be given special attention.

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