President Joe Bidenʼs administration has privately told the Kremlin that any use of nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine would have "catastrophic consequences" for Russia.
This was reported by Bloomberg with reference to the statement of White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
"We told the Kremlin directly, privately at a very high level, that any use of nuclear weapons would have catastrophic consequences for Russia, that the United States and our allies would respond decisively, and we said clearly and specifically what that would entail," said Sullivan.
According to him, the US has publicly made it clear that it will respond decisively if Russia uses nuclear weapons and will continue to support Ukraine in its efforts to protect the state and its democracy.
Sullivan added that the United States will also support Ukraineʼs desire to return the occupied territories.
- On September 21, Putin announced a partial mobilization in Russia, supported the holding of pseudo-referendums in the occupied territories of Ukraine, and threatened nuclear weapons in the event of an attack on the Russian Federation. In fact, he hinted at the possibility of nuclear strikes if the Armed Forces continued to liberate the occupied territories.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Putinʼs threat is "dangerous and reckless".
- In his speech at the UN General Assembly on September 21, President Biden called Putinʼs latest threat "irresponsible." And President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he doubts that Russia will use nuclear weapons.
- The Washington Post wrote that the United States has been warning Russia for several months about the serious consequences of using nuclear weapons.