The President of the United States said this Thursday that the Russian threat to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict puts the world at risk of an “apocalypse”.
This is the first time since the Cuban missile crisis at the height of the Cold War, underlined Joe Biden.
“We have not faced the prospect of an apocalypse since [former President John F.] Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis” in 1962, he said at a fundraiser in New York, where he said that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, “has not was kidding” when he made the threats.
US officials have been warning for months about the prospect of Russia being able to use weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine, after a series of strategic setbacks on the battlefield.
However, just this week they said they had not seen any change in Russian nuclear forces that would require a change in the alert posture of US nuclear forces.
“We see no reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture, nor do we have any indication that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons imminently,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday.
This Thursday, Biden said she was still “trying to discover” Putin’s “exit ramp” in Ukraine.
“Where is he going to find a way out? (…) How does he find himself in a position where he not only loses face but also loses significant power within Russia?” asked Biden.
Putin has repeatedly alluded to the use of the vast nuclear arsenal, including last month when he announced plans for partial deployment.
“I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction (…) and when the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, to protect Russia and our people, we will certainly use all means at our disposal,” Putin said. on September 21, adding, with a long look at the camera: “This is not a bluff”.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said last week that the US has been “clear” to Russia about what the “consequences” of using a nuclear weapon in Ukraine would be.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Putin understood that the “world will never forgive” a Russian nuclear strike.
“He understands that after the use of nuclear weapons, he would no longer be able to preserve, so to speak, his life, and I am confident of that,” he said.
