In mid-October, high-ranking Russian military officials discussed "when and how Moscow can use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine." The fact of the conversation itself, which was not attended by President Putin, confused American officials from the administration of Joe Biden.
This is reported by The New York Times with reference to sources in Joe Bidenʼs administration.
The details of the conversation and its tone were not disclosed by the NYT sources, but the Biden administration believes it shows that the generals are frustrated by their failures on the ground and that Putinʼs veiled earlier threats may be more than just words.
At the same time, the NYT notes that Putin has the sole right to decide whether to use nuclear weapons. He can make the appropriate decision regardless of the opinion of his generals.
The Pentagon, however, still does not see evidence of Russian preparations for nuclear strikes. The USA closely monitors all military nuclear facilities of the Russian Federation. The absence of specific "movements" on the part of the Russians was also confirmed by the representative of the National Security Council of the White House, John Kirby.
In addition, the NYT writes that at the end of October, after a series of telephone conversations between representatives of the US and Russia, the nuclear tension was partially eased. According to some U.S. officials, Putinʼs speech last Thursday, in which he rejected the possibility of a nuclear strike, contributed to the "de-escalation".
Russian politicians and propagandists often directly called for nuclear tactical strikes on decision-making centers, in particular in Ukraine.
- Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russia thus began to prepare its society for a nuclear strike. The Ukrainian authorities do not yet believe in the use of these weapons by Russia, but do not reject this option.
- NATO declared that a Russian nuclear attack would cause a "physical response", and the EU promised a powerful response, up to the destruction of the Russian army.
- At the end of October, Putin spoke at the Valdai discussion club. He devoted the entire speech to the West and compared it to a dictatorship. He said that Russia is not threatening a nuclear strike, but is only "responding to nuclear blackmail." At the same time, Putin said that as long as nuclear weapons exist, the world will always be in danger.
- Joe Biden said he was skeptical of Putin ʼs claim that he had no intention of using nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
“If he doesnʼt have that intention, why does he keep talking about it? Why is he talking about the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons? He is very dangerous in his approach to this," Biden believes.