US unprepared for nuclear response to possible Russian strike on Ukraine: NYT
Photo: US President Joe Biden (Getty Images)
The US was preparing a response in case Russia used nuclear weapons against Ukraine. However, this response would have been "non-nuclear," according to The New York Times.
As noted by the media, the peak of concern regarding a possible nuclear attack by Russia came in October 2022. At that time, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin stated that Russia could use "nukes" against Ukraine.
According to NYT, during several weeks in October 2022, the White House was engulfed in crisis. The administration of US President Joe Biden feared that Moscow might use tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield.
According to sources cited by the publication, the White House's concern was so great that task forces were convened to determine what the US response might be.
Biden's team believed that the response should be "non-nuclear," but according to representatives of the US President's administration, the reaction should be dramatic - possibly a "conventional attack on units that had launched nuclear weapons."
In the White House, it was believed that the use of nuclear weapons in response could encourage Putin and other authoritarian states to use their nuclear arsenal.
Putin's threats
It is worth noting that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened Ukraine and Western countries with nuclear weapons.
In addition, Russia has moved its nuclear weapons to Belarus. However, the self-proclaimed president Alexander Lukashenko cannot use them independently.
As reported by the American news outlet CNN, the US was preparing for a nuclear strike by Russia on Ukraine by the end of 2022. Washington relied on some intelligence information.
