We have nothing to fear from nuclear threats from Vladimir Putin, says US President Joe Biden. This is the reaction that came after the Kremlin ordered an increase in the alert for nuclear forces. According to the current assessment, the Washington administration sees no reason to change its own alert levels.
In response to a question about whether U.S. citizens should be concerned about a nuclear war breaking out, Biden said “no.” He was responding to a shouted question at the end of an event at the White House.
White House officials said earlier in the day the United States sees no reason to change its nuclear alert levels at this time, a point press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated during her briefing with reporters.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Monday its nuclear missile forces and Northern and Pacific fleets had been placed on enhanced combat duty, the Interfax news agency reported, in line with an order the previous day from President Vladimir Putin.
“We believe that such provocative rhetoric on nuclear weapons is dangerous, increases the risk of mistakes and should be avoided. Russia and the United States have long agreed that the use of nuclear weapons would have devastating consequences, and have repeatedly stated, including earlier this year, that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. We are assessing President Putin’s directive and at this time, we see no reasons to change our own alert levels,” Psaki said.
“The president has made it very clear that he does not intend to send American troops to wage war on Russia. An air exclusion zone would require the deployment of the US military in order to be implemented, which would lead to a potential direct conflict and potential war with Russia. It’s something we don’t intend to do,” she added.