"Greatest Danger Since the Cuban Missile Crisis"
"Efforts to Find Out What Putin's Way Out Is"
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] U.S. President Joe Biden warned that the world is facing the greatest nuclear threat since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, as Russian President Vladimir Putin may order the use of nuclear weapons. This is the first time President Biden has publicly suggested the possibility of nuclear war in the Ukraine conflict.
On the 6th (local time), at a fundraising event for the Democratic Senate campaign committee, President Biden mentioned President Putin, saying, "The person I know quite well is talking about the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biochemical weapons, and this is no joke," adding, "Since the Cuban Missile Crisis, we have never faced such an Armageddon possibility."
President Biden continued, "There is no capability to easily use tactical nuclear weapons without ending in Armageddon," and said, "We are trying to figure out what Putin's off-ramp is." This is the first time a senior U.S. official has publicly suggested the direct possibility of nuclear war.
President Biden's remarks are interpreted as reiterating the view inside and outside U.S. authorities that the Russian military, which is being pushed back on the Ukrainian front, is highly likely to use tactical nuclear weapons.
According to estimates by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), Russia possesses more than approximately 1,900 tactical nuclear warheads. Earlier, on the 4th, at the official declaration of the annexation of occupied territories in Ukraine, President Putin hinted at the possibility of nuclear use, stating, "The United States has set a precedent by using nuclear weapons twice on Japan," and "We can use nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
