Biden gives grim warning on dangers of putin's nuclear threats
Credit: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
US President Joe Biden has austerely warned of the dangers of russian president vladimir putin's nuclear threats as Moscow continues to face military setbacks in Ukraine.
He said this during a speech at a charity event of the Democratic Party in New York, CNN reports.
"First time since the Cuban missile crisis, we have a direct threat of the use (of a) nuclear weapon if, in fact, things continue down the path they are going," Biden warned.
He believes there is no way "to easily (use) a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon."
According to Biden, putin can go very far because of the loss of power.
"We've got a guy I know fairly well," Biden said of putin. "He's not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons because his military is, you might say, significantly under-performing," the American President said.
I'm trying to figure out what is Putin's off ramp?" Biden said during the event, "Where does he find a way out? Where does he find himself in a position that he does not not only lose face but lose significant power within Russia?"
At the same time, the US Department of Defense said it had received no information indicating that the Kremlin leader had decided to follow through on his threats to use nuclear weapons in the war with Ukraine.
Pentagon spokesman General Patrick Ryder emphasized that the United States and its allies take nuclear threats seriously and continue to monitor the development of the situation.
"This nuclear saber-rattling is reckless and irresponsible," Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said earlier Thursday. "As I've mentioned before, at this stage, we do not have any information to cause us to change our strategic deterrence posture, and we don't assess that President Putin has made a decision to use nuclear weapons at this time."
Following Biden's remarks, officials emphasized to CNN Thursday night that they had not seen any changes to Russia's nuclear stance.
A senior US government official expressed surprise at the President's remarks, saying there were no apparent signs of an escalating threat from Russia.
"Nothing was detected today that reflected an escalation," the official said, who went on to defend Biden's remarks because of the ongoing gravity of the matter.
As reported, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, stated that russia's nuclear blackmail is one of putin's attempts to intimidate other countries.
