The U.S. would respond the same way if Russia used any nuclear weapon in Ukraine, according to the White House. It won’t matter how potent this weapon was.

Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser to the U.S. president, argued in a CNN interview that the world’s nations—including China and India—should make it clear to Russia that using nuclear weapons in the conflict with Ukraine is not an option.

The use of more potent nuclear weapons by Russia or low-power tactical ones would not make a difference in the eyes of the US president, according to Sullivan on Oct. 16, 2022.

“The use of nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine is the use of nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine, there is no difference,” he continued.

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On Sept. 21, Putin declared a limited mobilization of Russian forces, backed the holding of phony elections in the occupied Ukrainian territories, and threatened to use nuclear weapons in the event of an attack on the Russian Federation. He even suggested that nuclear strikes might be used if the Ukrainian Armed Forces persisted in liberating the occupied areas.

President Volodymyr Zelensky warned earlier that Russia had started to get its society ready for a nuclear attack, but he also added that he did not support the use of tactical nuclear weapons.

The NATO alliance’s forces intend to practice nuclear deterrence, according to the  secretary general, saying the Allies would almost certainly respond physically to a Russian nuclear strike on Ukraine.

ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November, 16, 2024
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ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November, 16, 2024

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

In the event of a nuclear attack on Ukraine, according to Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on Oct. 13, Russia would face a strong military response from its allies that could result in the obliteration of the Russian army.

 

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