Ukraine’s western allies, and possibly North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), will be forced to take up a “physical response” if Russia moves the route of a nuclear strike, a senior NATO official said on Wednesday. On the eve of a closed-door meeting of NATO’s nuclear planning group, the official said that in such a case the course of the conflict will change dramatically and Moscow will face “unprecedented consequences”.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said that Moscow appears to be using its nuclear threats mainly to deter NATO and other countries from directly entering its war on Ukraine.
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US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had said last month that the United States has made clear to Moscow the “catastrophic consequences” it would face if it used a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also informed reporters Wednesday that the United States is monitoring the situation and keeping an eye on anything that would suggest Putin might move ahead with a nuclear strike.
“We’ve not seen any indicators at this point that would lead us to believe that,” Austin said.
Experts believe the nuclear threat seems to be a tactic to simply scare away western countries from supporting Kyiv.
Ukraine has managed to push back Russian troops in several regions and claimed back important territories. Russia has suffered huge losses in men and equipment within the last month. President Vladimir Putin went on to annex four Ukrainian regions only partly under Russian control, and has threatened to defend them with nuclear weapons.
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Meanwhile, NATO will go ahead with its annual nuclear preparedness exercise dubbed “Steadfast Noon” next week. Under it, NATO air forces will practice the use of US nuclear bombs based in Europe with training flights, without live weapons.
Cancelling the drills because of the war in Ukraine would send a “very wrong signal,” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.
“It’s an exercise to ensure that our nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure and effective,” he said, adding NATO’s military strength was the best way to prevent any escalation of tensions.
(With inputs from agencies)
