PM Modi: Russia was on the verge of launching a “potential nuclear attack” on Ukraine, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s outreach and diplomatic efforts from other nations were crucial in stopping them, according to a CNN report on Saturday.
Military Setbacks for Putin’s Army
According to the report, which referenced two senior officials, as President Vladimir Putin’s army was suffering “one setback after another” on the battlefield, the United States had been “preparing rigorously” for a possible nuclear strike by Russia on Ukraine.
According to a report quoting US insiders, Putin may have changed his mind about attacking Ukraine with a nuclear missile in 2022 as a result of intervention from PM Modi and nations like China.
Global Diplomatic Efforts
“US officials say that outreach and public statements from Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi helped avert a crisis,” the CNN report stated. According to the report, entire Russian regiments were in danger of being encircled as Ukrainian forces advanced on Kherson.
At the same time, Moscow purportedly threatened to use a dirty bomb against Ukraine. The report stated that within the US government, there was a concern that Russia could use a catastrophic defeat at Kherson as a “potential trigger” to launch nuclear weapons, and that the dirty bomb accusation may be a pretext for such an assault.
U.S. Appeals for Global Support
The US requested assistance from non-allies, such as India, to stop Russia from acting so harshly in order to defuse the situation. “One of the things we did was not only message them directly but strongly urge, press, encourage other countries, to whom they might be more attentive, to do the same thing,” a senior US administration official told CNN.
“I think the fact that we know, India weighed in, China weighed in, others weighed in, may have had some effect on their thinking,” the official said. Notably, India has continuously pushed for a diplomatic settlement to the Russia-Ukraine crisis and denounced the death of civilians.
During the September 2022 SCO summit in Uzbekistan, Prime Minister Modi announced to Putin that “this is not the era of war” and pledged to look into ways to bring about peace.
