It has been 77 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the world witnessed the birth of a new weapon of mass destruction. There are circumstances and a risk of a new nuclear confrontation after nearly eight decades. What is the solution?
Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings;
On August 6, this year, bells tolled in Hiroshima to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing. On August 6 and 9, 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, introducing the world to a new type of weapon of destruction. The two bombings killed 129,000 to 226,000 people, the majority of whom were civilians. These attacks continue to be the sole use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict.
Use of nuclear weapons;
US physicists were made aware of the German experiments demonstrating the possibility of nuclear fission. They were aware of the potential energy that would be released. During World War II, the United States Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) was established in June 1941 to coordinate scientific research for military purposes.
In the Manhattan Project, OSRD collaborated with the War Department to develop an atomic bomb. Four years later, on July 16, 1945, near Alamogordo, New Mexico, an atomic device was detonated. When the explosive power of more than 15,000 tonnes of TNT was generated, an atomic bomb was born.
Second World War;
On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb known as ‘Little Boy’ was dropped on Hiroshima. According to reports, the explosion’s combined heat and blast pulverized everything. A second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9. Between 35,000 and 40,000 people were killed. Six days later, on August 15, Japan surrendered, effectively ending the military aggression that had brought it into World War II. People continue to condemn the decision to drop the bombs, but some supporters argue that atomic bombings were necessary to bring the war to a quick end with minimal casualties.
Russia-Ukraine conflict;
Fears of a full-fledged nuclear war arose as a result of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Moscow has repeatedly stated that nuclear weapons will only be used in response to a weapon of mass destruction or a conventional weapons attack that threatens the ‘existence of the Russian state’. On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the invasion of Ukraine as a ‘special military operation’ to ‘demilitarise’ and ‘de-nazify’ the neighboring country and protect Russian speakers in the country.
Could Russia use tactical nuclear weapons?
Experts have been asking since Russia invaded Ukraine, will Russia use tactical nuclear weapons? Following the invasion, Putin stated that he was preparing his ‘deterrent forces,’ i.e. nuclear weapons, for ‘combat readiness’. This has caused concern, but no one knows what will happen.
Is there a new threat of nuclear war?
Is there a new threat of nuclear war? On August 8, 2022, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared that the risk of nuclear conflict had returned after decades. He urged nuclear states to commit to no first use of nuclear weapons, adding that any attack on a nuclear plant would be ‘suicidal’. His remarks come amid reports of renewed Russian shelling of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
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