US takes Putin’s words about nuclear weapons seriously

The United States takes Russian President Vladimir Putin’s words about nuclear weapons seriously, but sees no reason to increase the readiness of its strategic deterrence forces, John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator at the White House National Security Council, told ABC.

“We take this seriously, we monitor their strategic configuration as much as we can in order to adjust ours if the need arises. Right now we don’t see any indication that this is required,” Kirby said.quote according to RIA Novosti).

According to him, for Russia, the use of nuclear weapons will have consequences and will affect the country’s position on the world stage.

In the course of his address to citizens on the issues of referendums in the territories of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LPR and DPR), Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, Putin declaredthat Western countries have launched “nuclear blackmail”, they call on Kyiv to transfer hostilities to the territory of Russia. “We are talking not only about the shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, which is encouraged by the West, which threatens a nuclear catastrophe, but also about the statements of some high-ranking representatives of the leading NATO states about the possibility and admissibility of using weapons of mass destruction against Russia,” the president said.

September 17 US President Joe Biden in an interview with CBS saidthat Moscow could become a pariah in the world “more than ever” in the event of the use of nuclear or chemical weapons.

The principles and conditions for the use of nuclear weapons by Moscow are set out in the military doctrine of Russia, spoke former Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Grushko. According to the provisions of the military doctrine, the Russian side can use nuclear weapons if they are used on the territory of the country, if reliable information about the launch of ballistic missiles is received, if the enemy impacts on critical state or military facilities, which will jeopardize the work of Russian nuclear forces, and if the existence of the state will be threatened.

In March, the Russian leader said that the decision to conduct a NMD was linked to an “absolutely real threat” to Russia arising from Ukraine’s desire to join NATO and statements by the Ukrainian authorities about the possibility of acquiring nuclear weapons.