'No justification' for Russian threat of nuclear weapons

The computer simulation was carried on State-owned Russia-1 TV at the weekend and showed the Poseidon torpedo being fired from a submarine, the Belgorod, and exploding some 300km north-west of Donegal.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has said there is no justification for the threatened use of nuclear weapons and reminded Russia that it said last January a nuclear war “must never be fought”.

The department was responding to reports on Russian state TV showing computer-simulated nuclear attacks on Britain, which also wipes out Ireland.

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan described the TV reports as “disturbing” and a “disgrace”.

The computer simulation was carried on State-owned Russia-1 TV at the weekend and showed the Poseidon torpedo being fired from a submarine, the Belgorod, and exploding some 300km north-west of Donegal.

Accompanied by animated clips, presenter Dmitry Kiselyov, described as being very close to president Vladimir Putin, said a 500m-high tsunami will plunge Britain and Ireland "into the depths of the sea".

“Such a barrage also carries extreme doses of radiation," he said. "Having passed over the British Isles it will turn whatever might be left of them into a radioactive desert, unfit for anything for a long time.” 

There’s been a lot of understandable comment in relation to this trash video on Russian State TV.
Let’s not allow ourselves be distracted from the real atrocities being committed by Russian Forces in #Ukraine by disinformation like this. #StandWithUkrainepic.twitter.com/gM3mgkNF6M

— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) May 3, 2022

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said: "There can be no justification for threatening use of nuclear weapons. Ireland has long argued that nuclear weapons offer no security, and their use would result in devastating humanitarian consequences.

"Ireland recalls the statement of the heads of the five nuclear-weapon states, including Russia in January 2022, that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."

The department added: "Ireland continues to urge maximum restraint, de-escalation, and the avoidance of any nuclear rhetoric which will only worsen an already dangerous and unpredictable situation.” 

The department called on Russia to agree to an immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of troops to pre-February 24 positions, and a commitment to a dialogue.

'A matter for the editors'

The Russian embassy said on Monday that the reports were a matter for the editors of the programme.

It said: “The official position of Russia has always been that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and that it must never be unleashed.” 

Meanwhile, some experts have cast doubt on the accuracy of the Russian TV reports.

“I would urge everybody to keep calm, please remember this is just a television mock-up,” said former UK ambassador to Belarus John Everard.

 “The Russians do not have this weapon. The Poseidon is still being tested.” 

Mr Everard  said the submarine — the Belgorod — that is supposed to carry the weapon has not even been commissioned yet.

He told RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne that the projection of 500m-high tsunamis was the stuff of “science fiction".

US submarine expert and author HI Sutton posted a blog saying he believed the Belgorod was not available and still hadn’t been commissioned.

He said that while the Poseidon weapon should be taken “very seriously”, the simulation “should not”, saying it contained errors and repeated unsubstantiated claims and hyperbole.

He said the 500-megatonne warhead claim and the 500m-high tsunami have their roots from the November 2015 unveiling of the Poseidon (then called Status-6).

Mr Sutton said newer estimates for the warhead size is around 2 megatons.

Fianna Fáil MEP for Ireland South Billy Kelleher called on the Government to call the Russian ambassador in and express its “absolute disgust” at the report, saying that Russia 1 TV station was a “mouthpiece for Putin”.

He said the Government could not just “sit on its hands” while Russian State TV “advocated the destruction of the Irish nation”.