International Peace Coalition warns 2026 may be an existential turning point for humanity

The International Peace Coalition (IPC), hosted by the Schiller Institute, convened its 135th meeting last Friday to address escalating global geopolitical tensions, military mobilization in Germany, and the latest developments in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute, told participants that 2026 would serve as a critical juncture for strategic global stability.

In her opening remarks, Zepp-LaRouche evaluated the current landscape:

“If you thought 2025 was a turbulent year, fraught with danger and events people could hardly imagine possible, the new year suggests this trend will continue, with 2026 set to be a year of even more traumatic changes. The entire strategic situation and its many components are so strained that we must expect things to deviate from their current path and evolve into destructive developments.”

Drone attack on the Russian President

A primary focus of the meeting was the recent attempted strike on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence near Novgorod, which reportedly involved 91 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Highlighting the gravity of the incident, Zepp-LaRouche stated: “According to Russian military officials, all of these UAVs were neutralized, and no damage was sustained. However, the strategic implications of this event are incredibly high. Had President Putin been there and been killed, the world would likely have already spiraled into an open-ended world war.”

Zepp-LaRouche added that the Russian Ministry of Defense had analyzed the programming of the recovered drone debris and presented the evidence to the US military attaché in Moscow.

Missile threats in Germany: “A knife at Russia’s throat”

Wolfgang Effenberger, a German author and former military officer, focused on the dangers posed by the reactivation of the 56th Artillery Command in Wiesbaden, Germany, and the planned deployment of new missile systems across Europe.

Effenberger pointed to the connection between the development of “Dark Eagle” hypersonic missiles and the termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

“The Dark Eagle hypersonic rocket began development in 2019, the same year the US withdrew from the INF Treaty,” Effenberger noted. “With a range of 2,800 to 3,500 kilometers, this weapon would have been prohibited under the treaty. These systems enable Germany to strike targets and command centers deep within Russia. This would effectively blind Russia and place it under immense pressure.”

Effenberger warned that such a scenario could force Russia into a preemptive strike. “Just before the invasion of Ukraine, Putin remarked that ballistic missiles launched from Ukraine would reach Moscow in just seven to eight minutes, describing it as a ‘knife held to the throat.’ The Dark Eagle makes this situation even worse.”

Reminding the coalition that the New START treaty is set to expire in February 2026, Effenberger concluded:

“The end of New START combined with the deployment of the Dark Eagle represents a fundamental breaking point in strategic stability. Without the limitations imposed by the agreement, both sides will likely develop significantly more weapon systems.”

“Dancing on the edge of a nuclear abyss”

Beto Almeida, a Brazilian journalist and co-founder of TeleSUR, characterized the global state of affairs as “dancing on the edge of a nuclear abyss.”

“We are dancing on the edge of a nuclear precipice without even realizing it,” Almeida said. “There are four distinct flashpoints: Ukraine, Gaza, Taiwan, and Venezuela. Ukraine is the most explosive of them all.”

Addressing Donald Trump’s alleged reaction to the reports of the attack on Putin’s residence, Almeida shared the following account:

“Trump’s response to the call from Moscow explaining the attack was reportedly, ‘Thank God we didn’t give Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.’ I was not there, but this is how the event was relayed. This is a highly significant indicator of what might be possible if a different approach were to prevail in Washington.”

Almeida also touched upon cooperation between China and Russia in Latin America and other regions, noting: “President Xi Jinping’s words are quite clear; the reunification of Taiwan with China is inevitable.”

The collapse of Mutual Assured Destruction

Dennis Small of the Schiller Institute argued that the Cold War-era doctrine of “Mutual Assured Destruction” (MAD) is no longer a functional deterrent.

“Mutual Assured Destruction depends on a rival power responding to the threat of nuclear annihilation with at least a minimum level of logic,” Small evaluated. “That minimum logic no longer exists. Those on the NATO side do not seem to care and have openly stated they believe they can win a nuclear conflict. We are now beyond the point where MAD can function. All it will do now is accelerate our descent into a thermonuclear confrontation.”

Call for a new security architecture

At the conclusion of the meeting, Helga Zepp-LaRouche reiterated the necessity of a new security and development architecture as the only way out of the current crisis.

“Western elites are completely unwilling to face the fact that the current state of the world is entirely their own creation,” Zepp-LaRouche concluded. “If we cannot transcend geopolitics and shift our mindset to the idea of ‘humanity first,’ we will not survive. In the age of nuclear weapons, viewing war as a method of conflict resolution will lead us to extinction as a civilization.”