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The Biden administration has privately messaged Moscow about the “serious consequences” of the use of nuclear weapons – even as Russia has repeatedly raised nuclear threats amid battlefield losses in Ukraine.
State Department has communicated US stance ‘consistently’ to Moscow over a period of months Washington Post reported.
It was not clear whether any new warnings had been issued since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech to the nation announcing a nationwide mobilization of 300,000 people to join the war in Ukraine, which the Kremlin continues to call a “special military operation’.
US analysts have said many of those troops, drawn from former Russian servicemen and other sources, have said many of those troops will eventually be used as cannon fodder on the front lines.
US policy is to generally avoid brandishing the nuclear threat, something Putin and Russia have done repeatedly. Both countries have thousands of nuclear warheads.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with his country on Wednesday about a military mobilization. He said Russia would use “all available weapon systems” to protect its “territorial integrity.” US officials have been warning Russia of the dire consequences of using nuclear weapons for months
Putin said in his speech that Russia would use “all available weapon systems” to protect its “territorial integrity” and its people, as well as its “territorial integrity” and “independence and freedom”.
What analysts are particularly concerned about is mock referendums Russia is rushing in four provinces in eastern Ukraine. Once those measures are passed, Russia will likely declare the territory to be Russia — meaning it could claim justification for using nuclear weapons if Ukraine attacks to reclaim its territory.
Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian prime minister who serves as vice-chairman of the Security Council, wrote on Telegram on Thursday that this area “will be accepted in Russia.” He said Russia would use “any Russian weapon, including strategic nuclear weapons and weapons using new principles,” to defend territory it annexes from Ukraine.
That was probably a reference to Russia’s latest hypersonic missiles that travel many multiples of the speed of sound.
Speaking at the UN this week, President Joe Biden condemned Russia for its invasion and “overt” nuclear threats. “A nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought,” he said
The Foreign Ministry issued the warnings to Russia, although it was not immediately clear at what level
Putin’s mobilization comes after a string of victories by Ukrainian troops (pictured on the road in the liberated area of the Kharkiv region)
Multiple videos appear to show young Russian men drinking heavily while being shipped off to war, suggesting morale problems in the military are unlikely to improve once they arrive on the front lines
A man with a Z-war symbol on his chest cheers with his accomplices as they board a bus somewhere in Russia before setting out to fight Ukraine
Speaking at the UN this week, President Joe Biden condemned Russia for its invasion and “overt” nuclear threats. “A nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought,” he said
The nuclear threat comes as Western analysts have downplayed the impact of Putin’s massive military mobilization, which comes after Russia failed to conquer Ukraine with its armed forces of about 150,000.
There are indications that many of these conscripts will not want to fight, will not be trained in cohesion – shortcomings that were also visible in the existing Russian forces.
Russian conscripts have been filmed drinking and fighting each other on their way to the front lines, in scenes that could soon be repeated on the battlefields of Ukraine.
Dozens of videos surfaced showing men sipping on cups of booze before boarding buses west, or else stumbling and fighting at recruitment agencies and aboard planes.
The footage is hard to verify with certainty, but it matches reports of low morale and drunkenness among Russian recruits and speaks to broader issues facing Putin’s military — poor command, discipline and organization — that have affected his war effort thus far. have ravaged. It seems that those problems are unlikely to get better as the war progresses.
Meanwhile, reports from Russia itself suggested that men were rushing to marry single mothers or register as aged caretakers in a desperate attempt to evade conscription by getting dependents. However, their hopes are likely to prove in vain, as the only exceptions to Putin’s sweeping laws are age, illness or imprisonment.
It comes after border crossings were clogged with cars and airline tickets to visa-free countries sold out within hours. Some Russians reported buying tickets to destinations they didn’t know existed to get away. Others used scooters to skip lines of cars and cross to Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Georgia