US has been warning russia for several months against using nuclear weapons – Post

For several months, the US has sent private messages to Moscow warning the russian leadership about the severe consequences of using nuclear weapons.

The Washington Post reports, citing sources.

According to the publication, the Biden administration deliberately decided to warn about the consequences of a nuclear strike vaguely, so the Kremlin was worried about how Washington might react.

The US State Department was involved in the private correspondence with Moscow, but officials did not say who delivered the messages or their content.

It is unclear whether the US sent any new private messages in the hours after the russian president issued his latest veiled nuclear threat on September 21, announcing a partial mobilization.

For years, American nuclear experts have worried that russia could use smaller tactical nuclear weapons, sometimes called "battlefield nukes," to end the war on its terms.

US officials stepped up efforts at the UN General Assembly this week to deter russia from using nuclear weapons.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking at the meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday, said russia's "reckless nuclear threats must stop immediately."

"This week, President Putin said that Russia would not hesitate to use, and I quote, 'all weapons systems available' in response to a threat to his territorial integrity—a threat that is all the more menacing given Russians' intention to annex large swaths of Ukraine in the days ahead," Blinken said. "When that's complete, we can expect President Putin will claim any Ukrainian effort to liberate this land as an attack on so-called Russian territory."

Blinken noted that russia in January joined other permanent members of the Security Council in signing a joint statement declaring, "nuclear war can never be won, and must never be fought."

Read Rubryka's timeline of war: current news on Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression.