NEW YORK: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine has brought the world closer to “Armageddon” than at any time since the Cold War Cuban missile crisis, US President Joe Biden said.
Putin celebrated his 70th birthday and was praised by some officials. But with the end of his seven-month invasion, public celebrations have been few and far between, unlike only a week ago, when he held a huge concert in Red Square to announce the annexation of nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s land. What did
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv’s forces were rapidly recapturing more territory, including more than 500 square kilometers in the south where they launched a second major front this week.
Russia’s failures on the battlefield have drawn unprecedented public condemnation from Kremlin allies, with a Russian-installed leader in occupied Ukrainian territory going so far as to suggest that Putin’s defense minister should have shot himself.
Biden said the prospect of defeat could discourage Putin enough to use nuclear weapons, the biggest threat since the 1962 Cuban missile standoff between US President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
“We haven’t faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Biden said in New York. “For the first time since the Cuban Missile Crisis, we are in direct danger of using nuclear weapons, if in fact things continue on the path they have been going.”
Biden said that Putin “wasn’t kidding when he talked about the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons, because his military is, you might say, significantly underperforming.” demonstrating,” Biden said.
So far, the focus has been on long-range missiles, rather than the “strategic” arsenal that Washington and Moscow have stockpiled, Russia’s so-called “tactical” nuclear arsenal — a short-range missile for use on the battlefield. – is likely to be deployed. Since the Cold War.
But Biden suggested that it made little difference: “I don’t think there’s anything that could easily (use) a tactical nuclear weapon and not end in Armageddon.”
Meanwhile, the White House, following Biden’s nuclear Armageddon comments, said on Friday that the United States saw no reason to change its nuclear posture and had no indications that Russia would soon develop nuclear weapons. Preparing to use
Asked about Biden’s comments, White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One that “he was reinforcing what we’ve been saying, which is that we’re not talking about nuclear weapons.” How seriously do you take threats?”
“We have seen no reason to adjust our strategic nuclear posture, nor do we have any indications that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons immediately,” he said.
