WASHINGTON – Top Russian military leaders recently held talks to discuss when and how Moscow could use a tactical nuclear power in Ukraine, increasing concern in Washington and allied capitals, according to several senior US officials.
President Vladimir V. Putin it was not part of the talks, which took place against the backdrop of intensifying Russian nuclear rhetoric and setbacks on the battlefield.
But the fact that senior Russian military officials were also arguing alarmed the Biden administration because it showed how frustrated were the Russian generals for their failures on the ground, and suggests that Putin’s veiled threats to use nuclear weapons could not be just words.
However, US officials said they did not see evidence that the Russians were placing nuclear weapons or taking other tactical measures to prepare for an attack.
Information about the talks circulated within the US government in mid-October.
US officials did not describe the scenarios military leaders considered for the use of a nuclear weapon.
However, William J Burnsthe CIA director previously said that Putin’s “potential despair” over victory in Ukraine and setbacks in the war could lead Russia to use it.
John F. Kirby, a National Security Council official declined to comment on “the details of this report”.
“We have made it clear from the start that Russia’s comments on the potential use of nuclear weapons are deeply concerning and we take them seriously,” Kirby said.
“We continue to monitor it to the best of our ability and we see no signs that Russia is preparing for such use ”.
The Pentagon estimates that Russia has an arsenal of up to 2,000 nuclear weapons tacticsdesigned to be used on battlefields to overwhelm conventional forces.
Background
A tactical nuclear weapon has never been used in combat, but it could be deployed in many ways, including with missiles or artillery shells.
Tactical nuclear weapons have lower yields and are intended to be used at shorter distances than warheads carried by ICBMs.
Military experts say the use of a nuclear weapon for the first time in more than 75 years old, it would radically change the form of warfare.
Although the resulting destruction depends on many factors, including weapon size and winds, even a small nuclear explosion could cause thousands of dead and make parts of Ukraine uninhabitable.
Putin has the exclusive authority on the use of a tactical device and would make the decision to deploy one regardless of the views of his generals.
The new intelligence emerged as Moscow also promoted the baseless idea that Ukraine was planning to use a so-called dirty bomb, a conventional explosive mixed with radioactive material.
And it happened in the midst of a series of contacts between US and Western officials and their Russian counterparts, including two phone calls between the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin III, and the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei K. Shoigu.
While the risk of further escalation remains worryingly high, Biden administration officials and U.S. allies also say phone calls between their Western and Russian counterparts late last month helped relieve some of the nuclear stresses.
Putin’s speech last Thursday in which he denied that Moscow was preparing to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine the temperature dropped even more according to some officials.
“We don’t see the need for it,” Putin said in his speech.
“It makes no sense, neither political nor military”.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February and suffered significant losses, Putin himself has fueled fears that he might resort to a nuclear weapon.
A European official said the speech was seen by the allies as part of Putin’s normal scheme of escalating tensions, looking at the reaction of the West and its own public, and then taking steps to defuse the situation.
signs
Last week, Russia held an annual military exercise to test nuclear missiles.
Austin said US officials did not believe the moves were “some kind of covert activity” to use a tactical nuclear weapon against Ukraine.
In Washington, administration officials say not yet they believe Putin planned to use a tactical nuclear weapon or even a dirty bomb.
“We haven’t seen anything to indicate that Putin made the decision to use a dirty bomb,” Austin told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday.
He said even talking about the use of nuclear weapons was “dangerous”.
But he said the administration was “certainly worried about escalation,” as it has been since the start of the war.
“It would be the first time a nuclear weapon has been used in more than 70 years,” he said.
“If that were to happen, we made it clear from the start that you would see a very significant answer of the international community “.
Biden administration officials have steadfastly refused to publicly describe what that response would be, but the president has indicated that he has no plans to retaliate with a US nuclear device.
“I’m the guy who makes the recommendation to my boss about what we should do and how to do it, so I’ll make sure he has credible answers that are really effectiveIt’s in terms of what we want to do, ”Austin said, without delving into it.
For Putin, the use of a low-yield tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine presents more complications than the order to fire a strategic weapon, such as an ICBM.
Moving a tactical nuclear weapon is not simply a matter of placing an order and having two people turn the keys.
There would be practical measures that Russian commanders would be advised to be ready to take, including how to mitigate any risk to Russian military personnel in the blast area.
“If there’s a Kremlin order, it can’t happen magically,” said in an interview last week Peter B. Zwack, a retired one-star Army general who has been a US defense attaché at Moscow from 2012 to 2014..
Since the start of the war, US intelligence agencies have been
Source: Clarin
