(CNN) — The White House on Monday called “reckless and irresponsible” comments by Russian Security Council Vice Chairman Dmitry Medvedev suggesting that Russia might resort to using nuclear weapons if Ukraine succeeds in its counterattack.
A spokesman for the US National Security Council said Washington “has seen no indications that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons,” adding that Medvedev’s comments were “reckless and irresponsible.”
He continued, “As we have said many times before, this kind of rhetoric is reckless and irresponsible, and the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine or anywhere would be disastrous for the world, and would have grave consequences for Russia.”
He stated: “We continue to monitor this closely, but we have not seen any reason to adjust our nuclear posture nor any indications that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon.”
Medvedev made these statements, via Telegram, and it is the latest in a series of nuclear threats that Moscow has made since launching its war against Ukraine.
He said, “Imagine if the NATO-backed attack had succeeded and they took part of our land, then we would have been forced to use nuclear weapons according to a Russian presidential decree, there would simply be no other option.”
It is noteworthy that US President Joe Biden said, earlier this month, that he did not believe that Russia would spread nuclear weapons.
“I don’t think there is any real possibility that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would use nuclear weapons, and not only did the West do that, but China and the rest of the world told him not to think about it,” Biden told CNN at a news conference in Helsinki, Finland.
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2023-07-31 22:25:24
