US President Joe Biden stressed on the 6th of October, At a private event for Democratic Senate candidates, that the risk of nuclear “Armageddon” has risen towards its peak point since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. This statement was an analysis of Russian officials’ discussions about the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons following severe setbacks in the later eight-month of the Ukraine Crisis. But his statement does not match with the US officials, according to AP.
Biden stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “a guy I know fairly well” and that he wasn’t joking when he mentioned using tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons, referring to Putin’s speech on the 21st of September: “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 the means at our disposal”.
Despite months of warnings from American officials about the potential that Russia might use WMD in Ukraine as a result of several tactical defeats, Biden’s statement was the government’s most direct statement so far regarding nuclear risks.
[bs-quote quote=”We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture, nor do we have indication that Russia is preparing to imminently use nuclear weapons” style=”default” align=”left” color=”” author_name=”Karine Jean-Pierre” author_job=”the White House press secretary” author_avatar=”” author_link=””][/bs-quote]
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Biden was referring to a fresh analysis of Russian intentions. However, as recently as this week, American authorities claimed they had not observed any modification to Russia’s nuclear arsenal that would have required a change in U.S. nuclear weapons alert status.