Biden says Putin is “desperate” with his “empty comments” on nuclear weapons and insists US is ready for “whatever” Russia does after Kremlin said invading Ukraine is a war with NATO
- “No one should make empty comments about the use of nuclear weapons,” Biden said
- Speaking at the White House, he announced $33 billion in requested new military and economic aid to Ukraine
- Russia calls on the US and its allies to stop arms deliveries
- Putin warned that his response to anyone who “threatens” Russia will be “lightning quick”.
President Joe Biden has commented on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling, as well as the Kremlin’s recent statements that the US is waging a “proxy war” in Ukraine.
“Nobody should make empty remarks about the use of nuclear weapons or their possibility [their] be used. It’s irresponsible,” he said at the White House.
Biden was asked at the White House on Thursday if he was concerned about Putin’s recent comments about the US stance on Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. Russia has protested US arms sales and support.
Biden on Thursday announced $33 billion in additional U.S. assistance as part of a broader effort to send weapons, ammunition and economic support.
“You are not true. They worry me because it shows the desperation and sense of urgency at their abject failure to do what they originally set out to do,” Biden said.
![“Nobody should make empty remarks about the use of nuclear weapons or their possibility [their] used,” President Joe Biden said Thursday at the White House](https://www.spamchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Biden-says-Putin-is-getting-desperate-with-his-empty-comments.jpg "Biden says Putin is getting 'desperate' with his 'empty comments' on nukes. 1")
“Nobody should make empty remarks about the use of nuclear weapons or their possibility [their] used,” President Joe Biden said Thursday at the White House
He also called the Kremlin’s comments on a proxy war disingenuous, despite a string of reports of US intelligence and other support for the defeated.
Moscow this week echoed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s comments in Germany that the allied effort would “weaken” Russia, which US security officials have long criticized as a malicious actor on the world stage.
“And so I think it’s a reflection of the truth rather than its failure. So instead of saying that the Ukrainians are endowed with some capability to resist Russian forces doing so, they have to say that the United States and all of NATO are busy taking out Russian troops and tanks and so on.
“So number one is an excuse for their failure. But number two, it’s like that, if they’re really serious, it’s… no, nobody should be making idle remarks about the use of nuclear weapons or the possibility of them [their] be used. It’s irresponsible,’ he said.
Vladimir Putin warned that any country meddling in Ukraine would pose a threat to Russia and that he would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons to counter this threat
Biden called it “irresponsible” for the Kremlin to invoke Russia’s nuclear arsenal
Putin didn’t mention nuclear weapons directly, but spoke of weapons that “no one else can brag about” — almost certainly a reference to the Sarmat-2 nuclear bomb that Russia tested last week
A wrecked tank, likely owned by Russian/pro-Russian forces, lies amidst rubble to the north of the wrecked city. Security experts have warned Russia not to turn to unconventional weapons amid battlefield casualties
An aerial view shows damaged buildings amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine in Mariupol, Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to Russia’s nuclear arsenal in St. Petersburg on Wednesday.
He warned that his response to anyone who “threatened” Russia would be “lightning quick” and deadly.
“If anyone intends to interfere in what is happening from the outside, they must know that this poses an unacceptable strategic threat to Russia. You must know that our response to counterattacks will be lightning fast. Quick,’ he said.
“We have all the weapons we need for this. No one else can brag about these weapons, and we won’t brag about them. But we will use them,” he added.
He was possibly referring to Russia’s new Sarmat 2 nuclear missile, which was tested for the first time just days ago and which he boasted is unlike any other weapon in the world.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia was waging a proxy war with all of NATO and said the risk of it going nuclear was “real”.
The comments came after Russia fired diplomatic letters to Washington urging the US to halt military aid. The US went ahead nonetheless, as Biden announced a new $33 million package for Ukraine, including $20.4 billion in additional security and military aid.
Speaking to state television, Lavrov said the current situation is worse than the Cuban Missile Crisis at the height of the Cold War because relations between the two sides have completely collapsed.
Asked directly about the possibility of a nuclear war, he said: “The risks are very great. I don’t want the danger to be artificially inflated [but] it’s serious, really. It must not be underestimated.’