"Putin is not joking": Biden warns of nuclear "Armageddon" - Pentagon speaks up
Created: 07/10/2022 07:38
By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi
In the Ukraine war, Putin and those around him repeatedly threatened nuclear attacks.
US President Biden now sees a nuclear "Armageddon" approaching the world.
Munich/Washington – The heavy fighting in the Ukraine war between Ukrainian and Russian troops continues.
As Ukraine's counteroffensive is making great strides with a new tactic, and Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin is increasingly being cornered, one of the possible consequences of this state of affairs is of great concern to the world.
Both Putin and those close to him regularly threaten to use nuclear weapons.
The calls for it are getting louder and louder on state television.
Experts fear that Putin might actually take such drastic action if Russia's defeat looks certain.
US President Joe Biden probably has similar fears.
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Biden sees the danger of a nuclear confrontation with catastrophic consequences after threats from the Kremlin as greater than it has been in 60 years.
The world has not faced the prospect of "Armageddon" since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Biden said at a performance in New York, according to journalists traveling with him.
"For the first time since the Cuban Missile Crisis, we have the threat of a nuclear weapon," emphasized the President.
They are also trying to find out what Putin sees as a "way out".
"We have a guy here that I know pretty well," Biden said, according to British newspaper
The Guardian
.
The Kremlin chief does not joke when he talks about the potential use of tactical nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, as the Russian military is weak in the fighting in Ukraine.
The danger is real, warned the US President.
It is unclear whether Biden's statements are based on a new assessment by US security authorities.
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Ukraine war: Pentagon speaks up – “no new assessment of the use of nuclear weapons”
In any case, according to the Pentagon, there is no new information on the possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia.
The US Department of Defense spoke out after the latest threats from Moscow.
"Currently, we have no information that would cause us to change our strategic deterrent posture," Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said at a news conference.
"Nor do we have any assessment that President Putin made the decision to use nuclear weapons now," Ryder said.
Nevertheless, the situation is taken very seriously and will continue to be monitored.
US insiders believe that a major nuclear strike is out of the question, but warn against Putin's "tactical" warheads.
(bb/dpa)
