US President Joe Biden has declared that the threat of nuclear “Armageddon” is peaking, at par with the risk brought by the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. He refers to the rhetoric pronounced by Russian President Vladimir Putin in threatening to retaliate to the West’s “nuclear blackmail” with its own “various means of destruction.”
Biden stated Thursday night at a Democratic fundraiser that the Russian leader is “not joking when he talks about the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons.”
“We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Biden added.
However, his own government hasn’t seen any evidence or intelligence to point to that Russia is making good with its nuclear threats and amping up its arsenal. So far, security officials haven’t encountered any change to Putin’s nuclear forces that would necessitate a shift in the alert status of the United States’ own 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.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also said last week that Putin’s recent remarks are just additions to the recurring warnings he has made since Russia began invading Ukraine in February.
“We do not presently see indications about the imminent use of nuclear weapons,” Sullivan said. “We are, of course, monitoring that carefully and staying in close consultation with allies and partners.”
Experts consider the 13-day standoff in 1962 that followed the United States’ revelation of the Soviet Union’s secret deployment of nuclear weapons to Cuba to be the closest the world has ever gotten to nuclear catastrophe. During President John F. Kennedy’s administration, the crisis refocused attention on arms control on both sides of the Iron Curtain.
In his national address announcing his partial military mobilization, Putin called out the west for using “nuclear blackmail.”
“If Russia feels its territorial integrity is threatened, we will use all defense methods at our disposal, and this is not a bluff,” Putin warned, adding a reminder that Russia “also has various means of destruction, and with regard to certain components they’re even more modern than NATO ones.”
Reports claim recently that Russia is making a move to test “doomsday” nuclear torpedo drones near the Ukrainian border in the Black Sea, according to NATO intelligence.
Farther to the east, North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan on Tuesday. This prompted US State Secretary Anthony Blinken to warn that Pyongyang’s continued missile provocations “will only increase the condemnation, increase the isolation and increase the steps that are taken in response to their actions.”
Information for this briefing was found via AP, Bloomberg, and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
