Lloyd Austin commented on the threats of the Russian authorities and assessed the probability of a nuclear attack on the territory of Ukraine.
Russia continues to regularly threaten Ukraine and the West with the use of tactical nuclear weapons in an attempt to maintain influence amid recent military setbacks. The US does not yet see the Kremlin's intention to carry out an attack in the near future, but warns the Russian authorities about the negative consequences if it is used in the future. In particular, the Minister of Defense of the States Lloyd Austinpersonally warned his colleague from the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu, to refrain from such actions. The official was quoted by CNN.
In a conversation with journalists, Austin said that although the Pentagon currently does not see a threat of the use of tactical nuclear weapons by Russia, the possibility of such a scenario cannot be dismissed, because the final choice remains behind the Kremlin leadership led by Putin.
“It is clear that this decision is made by only one person… Just as he made the irresponsible decision to attack Ukraine, he could have made another decision. But right now I don't see anything that would make me believe that he is going to use nuclear weapons. Rattling nuclear weapons is not something we expect to hear from leaders of major countries that have the potential,” Austin said, referring to Putin's latest statements.
The US Defense Minister noted that he had privately delivered a personal message to Sergei Shoigu, in which he warned him to refrain from irresponsible decisions, as Russia would then expect a response from the US.
Read also: Forbes: An expert pointed out a place in Ukraine where a Russian nuclear attack could happen
Previously, American expert Brian Whitmore expressed the opinion that Putin's nuclear threats are a bluff.
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Read more about the threat of a potential nuclear attack by the Russian Federation and its possible consequences for the course of the war in Volodymyr Kravchenko's article “Referendums” and the threat of a nuclear strike: Putin makes mistake after mistake”.
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