Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitri Muratov speaks of real threat of nuclear war

Russian journalist Dmitri Muratov, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, called for “an unconditional ceasefire and a truce” and stated that “there is a real threat of nuclear war” in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“There is a real threat of nuclear war”, Murátov indicated during an appearance by videoconference in the Human Rights Subcommittee of the European Parliament.

The director of the independent newspaper “Novaya Gazeta” recalled that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that “The third world war would be a nuclear war, and I imagine he was referring to what is happening in central Europe.”

At this time, he considered that “the greatest danger” is “the possibility, the threat of a nuclear response that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin already indicated when he said that if the United States intervened, the response it would give is something that had never been seen in history”.

“This all sounds like a nightmare, but I’m not ruling out the possibility that, at some point, they might be tempted to push the red button.“, he pointed.

Murátov explained that on Wednesday he visited former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, on his 91st birthday, in a hospital, where he is due to his health problems.

“And he flatly rejects the possibility of nuclear war. However, I don’t know who our authorities are going to listen to. They will only listen to one person”, he commented.

The Nobel laureate noted that “no one ever imagined that Russia would attack Ukraine and that Russian planes would bomb Kiev and destroy Kharkov, and that Russian forces would enter the country. But unfortunately it is the harsh reality, ”he pointed out.

He also recalled that “there have been repeated threats of the use of nuclear force, nuclear missiles, different types of nuclear weapons” and that “They have been repeating it for years, this is now commonplace for the authorities.”

The journalist recalled that, in the Russian Federal Assembly, which brings together the lower and upper chambers, he recently presented “an interesting video about missiles being launched against the United States.”

“Now, considering the possibility of nuclear war is becoming all too common. It is talked about on the radio stations, on the television channels. And I find this extremely worrying.”, he asserted.

Muratov lamented the closure of independent media in Russia, such as the Echo of Moscow radio station on Wednesday, and encouraged the population to look for other means of information on the internet apart from the official ones.

He assured that the majority of the Russian people are against this war, and that the current Parliament “does not represent her”.

“Please do not mix the Russians with their leaders, who are the ones who have started this atrocity. The future of our children has been severed with this war“, lament.

“I am in contact with various people, including those in elite circles, and the elites are monolithic, they are very consolidated”, he explained, in response to whether Putin can find opposition in his closest circles.

According to the journalist, “the cement that unites them is that they cannot leave, they cannot leave the country. They are going to have to live in Russia, and in Russia they are going to have a president for the rest of history, for all eternity. And therefore they cannot express their opinions, for they are afraid. It’s hard”, he concluded.

Muratov askedan unconditional ceasefire and a truce, that is what the talks should focus on. Prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, save innocent civilians”, as well as create “humanitarian corridors, access the wounded, carry out prisoner exchanges, and that those who have died in combat can be buried”.

Muratov, 60, was in 1993 one of the founders of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, “an important source of information on objectionable aspects of Russian society that are rarely mentioned by other media outlets”, according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.