Biden: Nuclear 'Armageddon' risk highest since '62 crisis
New York: President Joe Biden is declaring that the risk of nuclear Armageddon is at the highest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, as Russian officials speak of using tactical nuclear weapons after suffering massive setbacks in the eight-month invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking at a Democratic fundraiser, Biden said on Thursday night that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a guy I know fairly well and the Russian leader is not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons. Biden added, We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis."
He suggested the threat from Putin is real because his military is you might say significantly underperforming.
US officials for months have warned of the prospect that Russia could use weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine as it has faced strategic setbacks on the battlefield, though Biden's remarks marked the starkest warnings yet by the US government about the nuclear stakes.
Still, nothing has changed in US intelligence assessments that in recent weeks have shown no evidence that Putin has imminent plans to deploy nuclear weapons, according to US officials. One official, who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, added that Biden was speaking broadly about the administration's growing concerns about Putin's threats.
Biden was conveying that the White House sees Putin's rhetoric as reckless and irresponsible and is taking it seriously, the official said.
The official added that Biden's remarks are in line with warnings he's made in speeches at the UN General Assembly and that other senior administration officials have made recently. The president's new remarks came after White House officials this week said they have seen no change to Russia's nuclear forces that would require a change in the alert posture of US nuclear forces.
We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture, nor do we have indication that Russia is preparing to imminently use nuclear weapons, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday.
