Russia revives Cold War posturing

To the consternation of many at home, Russia appears to reprising Cold War threats to rain nuclear annihilation on the U.S. if attacked.

In a prime-time TV broadcast, Dmitri Kiselyev, the Kremlin’s top propagandist, detailed how Russia would wipe out targets including two U.S. military bases that closed many years ago. He also laid out a plan to station Russian nuclear submarines off the coast of the U.S. if it were to put nuclear missiles in Poland.

And to mark Defenders of the Fatherland Day on Saturday, a choir at a St. Petersburg cathedral performed a song about a nuclear attack on the U.S.

Context: The assertiveness seems to be related to President Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which banned the placement of such weapons in Europe. President Vladimir Putin of Russia promised in his state-of-the-nation address this month to answer with the deployment of new nuclear weaponry.

Another angle: A Cold War atmosphere also prevailed at the U.N. Security Council, where the U.S. and Russia squared off over Venezuela.