2024-03-09 15:43:26
In late 2022, the US has begun “rigorous preparations” for a possible Russian strike on Ukraine with nuclear weapons, which would be the first nuclear attack in wartime since the US dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki nearly 80 years ago. This was said by two high-ranking officials of the administration of President Joe Biden, writes CNN (CNN), quoted by bTV.
“What led the Biden administration to reach such a surprising estimate was not a single metric, but a confluence of events, analysis and — crucially — highly sensitive new intelligence,” one of the sources said.
“The fear of the administration is not only hypothetical – it is also based on some information that we received. We had to plan so that we were in the best possible position in case this now unthinkable event actually happened,” said a second senior official.
During this period from late summer to fall 2022, the National Security Council has convened a series of meetings to create contingency plans “in the event of a very clear indication that they are about to do something, attack with a nuclear weapon, or if they just do, how are we going to respond, how are we going to try to prevent or deter it,” said the first senior official in the Joe Biden administration.
The late summer of 2022 has been a devastating time for Russian troops in Ukraine. Ukrainian troops were advancing towards Russian-occupied Kherson in the south, and entire Russian units were under threat of encirclement. The administration of the US president believes that such a catastrophic loss could become a “potential trigger” for the use of nuclear weapons by Russia.
Moscow then loses positions on Ukrainian territory, not in Russia. US officials are concerned that Russian President Vladimir Putin may perceive the loss of Kherson as “a direct threat to him and Russia”.
According to this assessment, the country may consider a tactical nuclear strike as a deterrent against further losses of Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine, as well as any potential attack on the country itself.
Nuclear weapons can be used under ‘false pretext’
The author of the article notes that “the Russian propaganda machine also in 2022 spread a false story about a ‘Ukrainian dirty bomb’, which US officials say could be a cover for a Russian nuclear attack.”
The US wants to enlist the support of India and China
In addition, according to the author of the material, the US has tried to enlist the help of countries that are not its allies, in particular China and India, to dissuade Russia from a nuclear strike.
“One of the things we’ve done is not only sent them a direct message, but we’ve strongly urged, pressured, encouraged other countries that they might be more wary of to do the same,” said one senior Biden administration official. .
U.S. officials stress that the outreach and public statements of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi helped avert the crisis.
The media emphasized that at no time has the US discovered intelligence indicating that Russia is taking steps to mobilize its nuclear forces to carry out such an attack.
But U.S. officials aren’t sure they’ll have timely information on whether Russia is moving tactical nuclear weapons. Unlike strategic nuclear weapons, which are capable of destroying entire cities, tactical or combat nuclear weapons are small enough to move “silently” and can be launched from conventional systems already deployed on the Ukrainian battlefield.