Dangers of a Nuclear Nature

Forecast: “Sketches of the Global Future” (published: part 1 — February 9, 2026, link / part 2 — February 13, 2026, link).

S. Dragan:

In the latter half of August 2026, a dangerous phase of a grand struggle for power on a global scale begins… These will be highly explosive times. … Everything is epochal from the standpoint of global leadership and dangers of a nuclear nature. …

In late summer and early autumn 2026, aggressive rhetoric related, to one degree or another, to the threat of using nuclear weapons began to intensify.

According to many political scientists, it looks like the beginning of a new nuclear arms race. Moreover, this is a highly unusual and dangerous race, as new players are emerging — at the very least, contenders for participation in the nuclear championship.

A Washington Post editorial notes alarming but obvious facts: “As decades of arms control treaties expire, countries that once rejected possessing nuclear weapons are beginning to reconsider their decision. The United States and Russia, which control 86 percent of the world’s nuclear arsenal, have been left without an arms limitation treaty for the first time since 1972. The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, signed by President Barack Obama in 2010 and extended under President Joe Biden in 2021, expired in February 2026. U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he wants a better nuclear weapons deal.

During this period, even “dwarf countries” declared their readiness to deploy nuclear weapons on their territory.

On September 22, 2026, Lithuanian media reported that the Lithuanian Seimas had approved a constitutional amendment providing for the repeal of the provision prohibiting the deployment of weapons of mass destruction and foreign military bases on the country’s territory. Ninety-nine parliamentarians voted for the amendment, 13 voted against, and five abstained.

In the summer of 2026, the Finnish Parliament approved legislative amendments abolishing the existing ban on the import, manufacture, storage, and use of nuclear weapons within the country.

The Finnish Parliament’s decision opens up the possibility of deploying both American and French nuclear weapons in the country.

In September 2026, Britain, seeking in some way to replace or at least “duplicate” the U.S. nuclear capability, offers the member countries of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) its “nuclear umbrella.” This was reported by the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti, citing Royal Navy Commander Gwyn Jenkins and Heikki Autto, chairman of the Finnish Parliament’s Defense Committee.

It is reported that London is offering Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden its national nuclear protection within the framework of the new JEF combat force. Thus, nuclear deterrence will no longer be carried out exclusively through NATO’s nuclear defense system.

It is noted that British nuclear submarines will play a key role in such “nuclear protection.”

NATO countries are increasingly fueling military hysteria and provoking Russia into retaliatory actions.

The aggressive ambitions of the North Atlantic bloc, primarily concerning attempts to exert military pressure on the Kaliningrad exclave, have received an adequate response from Russia, though so far a political and diplomatic one.

NATO received a warning from Russia that it is prepared to use its entire military arsenal, including nuclear weapons, in the event of a blockade of the Kaliningrad Region by air or sea. This was reported on September 30, 2026, by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

“I cannot disclose the contents, but yes, we received this letter, and it is roughly what they told the media,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

Rutte assured the Baltic countries bordering the Kaliningrad Region that there was no cause for concern. At the same time, he called on the other NATO members not to reduce support for Ukraine and to increase investment in its defense sector.

S. Dragan draws attention to the fact that, during the period under consideration, the struggle for global dominance is not limited to the nuclear sphere:

…this may be related to the struggle for dominance and leadership in artificial intelligence…

(To be continued.)