United States President Joe Biden claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin's threat to deploy nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine raised the possibility of "Armageddon" since the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s.
According to Reuters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv's soldiers were fast recapturing additional land as Putin's "special military operations" had worn down. This includes more than 500 sq. km. in the south, where they broke through a second major front this week.
One Russian-installed authority in occupied Ukraine suggested Putin's defense minister should have committed suicide due to Moscow forces significant failures in the Russia Ukraine war.
The World Gets Closer To Armageddon
The US chief executive noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be so desperate at the thought of losing that he would deploy nuclear weapons. Biden remarked Putin's nuclear threats would be the greatest threat to global peace and security since President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev squared off over missiles in Cuba in 1962.
"We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis," Biden said in New York. For the first time since the Cuban Missile Crisis, the world is facing a "direct threat to use nuclear weapons" if the situation continues to escalate, he added.
Biden said Putin was "not joking" when the latter discussed "the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons" as Russian forces have been "significantly underperforming" in the Russia Ukraine war.
Fear has been about the idea of Russia launching a "tactical" nuclear bomb, a short-range device for use on the battlefield, instead of the "strategic" armaments on long-range missiles Washington and Moscow have amassed since the Cold War.
However, President Joe Biden believes there is no such thing "as the ability" to easily utilize a tactical nuclear weaponry and "not end up with Armageddon."
Putin has threatened to use Russia's nuclear weapons if necessary to preserve Russian territory, which he claims now includes the four areas of Ukraine that he seized last week.
Ukraine's Donestk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions-roughly 15 percent of the country-have been annexed by Russia after Putin signed an annexation law this week. However, none of these regions are under Russian authority.
US Intelligence Sees No Nuclear Attack Preparations Yet
The US has not detected nuclear attack preparations, officials said Thursday. Experts consider them as viable possibilities the US must prepare for if Russia's assault falters and Moscow annexes more Ukrainian areas, per CNN.
Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder remarked on Thursday that the "nuclear saber-rattling is recless and irresponsible." The official noted that the US military does not have any intelligence to change its "strategic" stance. Based on their assessment, Vladimir Putin has not decided to deploy nuclear weapons as of the moment.
President Joe Biden spoke at a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee held in New York at the residence of James Murdoch, the son of News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch.
The president has been on the road to celebrate Democratic legislative successes and collect money for the party, including fundraisers in New York last month when he addressed the UN General Assembly, as per a report from Bloomberg.
Read also: Russia War: European Union Giving Ukraine Howitzer Weapons, More Arms Amid Strong Counterattack
