Russian President Vladimir Putin has been discussing all options being on the table for him and the Russian military during the war with Ukraine, including using nuclear weapons.
Even though he continually added phrases like “I am not bluffing” to the threats, they had not caused great alarm. Yet.
But things changed Thursday when Joe Biden said the nuclear “Armageddon” risk is the highest it has been for 60 years. He was referring to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. He told gatherers at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee that it’s the first “direct threat of nukes being used” if things continue on their path.
It was late in September when Putin spoke directly about the possible use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine on national television.
“If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people. I’m not bluffing.”
The war is not going well for Putin, despite the recent call-up of 300,000 troops. In Kyiv this week, Ukrainian forces were forcing Russia’s fighters back and forcing a retreat from territory Putin claimed to have annexed.
The fear is that instead of accepting defeat in a war that he could lose, Putin will crank up his desperation and escalate things further.
Here’s more from Biden on Thursday.
“We’ve got a guy I know fairly well. 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 underperforming.”
As for why Biden used such a cataclysmic term in describing what would happen if Putin did use a nuclear bomb, here’s what he told the group Thursday.
“I don’t think there’s any such thing as the ability to easily [use] a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon. We are trying to figure out what is Putin’s off ramp? Where does he find a way out? Where does he find himself where he does not only lose face but significant power?”
Ironically, the talk Biden gave was at the home of James Murdoch. He is the son of Rupert Murdoch, the founder of Fox News.
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