With concerns growing that Vladimir Putin will escalate Russia’s war in Ukraine, the US is considering how to respond to a number of potential scenarios, including fears that the Russians could use tactical nuclear weapons, according to three sources briefed on the latest intelligence information.
Since the start of the conflict, the US has been developing contingency plans to respond, including the possibility that Russia’s president could escalate a step closer to a nuclear strike on Ukraine, through what one source described as a “nuclear display”. , such as a possible military attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, or the detonation of a nuclear device at high altitudes or away from populated areas.
Officials warn that the US has not detected preparations for a nuclear strike. However, experts see them as potential options the US must brace for as Russia’s invasion falters and Moscow annexes more Ukrainian territory.
US officials also took grim note of the Russian president’s repeated public threats to use nuclear weapons. In a televised speech late last month, Putin said: “If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will undoubtedly use all available means to protect Russia and our people. This is not a bluff.”
On Friday, at a ceremony in which he announced the illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions, Putin said Russia would use “all available means” to defend the areas, adding that the US had “set a precedent” for attacks. nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.
“Putin is capable of anything,” he told CNN Democratic Representative Mike Quigley of Illinois, a member of the House Intelligence Committee. While noting that there is still no evidence of preparations for such an attack, Quigley added: “You have to take it seriously.”
The US is studying a variety of potential scenarios to have contingency plans for how it and its partners would respond to such attacks. The potential for a “nuclear display” is considered an option if Putin does not go so far as to order a nuclear strike on Ukrainian forces or population centers, opting instead for what one official described as a “demonstration of bravery”.
A nuclear attack is still considered unlikely, although concern among US officials about the potential for such an attack has grown in recent weeks. “Defeat,” said an intelligence source, “is not an option for Putin.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an exclusive interview with CNN broadcast on Sunday that he saw nothing to suggest that Putin decided to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
“To be clear, the guy who makes this decision, I mean, is a man,” Austin said of Russian nuclear weapons threats in an interview with Fareed Zakaria on CNN in the “Fareed Zakaria GPS”.
“There are no checks on Mr. Putin. Just as he made the irresponsible decision to invade Ukraine, you know, he can make another decision. But I see nothing now that leads me to believe he made such a decision.”
While there has been growing public opposition to the war within Russia, the US believes Putin is under increased pressure from hard-line nationalists who are calling for a further escalation of the conflict, an intelligence source said.
Asked about the report by the CNN on Monday’s “New Day,” John Kirby, the National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, said the US is “closely” watching Russia’s actions at the Zaporizhzhia plant amid concerns from that Putin can escalate his war with Ukraine and has “thought out” the answer to any potential use of nuclear weapons by Russia.
While the US has not seen anything that has changed the US strategic posture, “we are watching this as closely as possible,” Kirby said, adding, “We take these threats seriously.”
(*Correspondent national security chief)
Source: CNN Brasil
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