President Joe Biden cautioned Vladimir Putin not to use nuclear weapons if his forces are defeated in Ukraine, or he will face “consequences.”
Scott Pelley asked the president in a preview for this Sunday’s 60 Minutes what he would say to his Russian counterpart if he considered using chemical or tactical nuclear weapons in the Ukraine.
Biden responded: ‘Don’t. Don’t. Don’t. You will alter the nature of conflict in ways not seen since World War II.
When Pelley pressed the president for a response should Putin cross the line, Vice President Biden refused to comment on a precise plan, stating simply that the United States would act if nuclear weapons were used.
‘It’ll be consequential,’ Biden remarked. “[Russia] will become a pariah in the world to a greater extent than ever before.”
And depending on the severity of their actions, a particular response would ensue.
President Joe Biden issued a ‘consequences’ warning to Vladimir Putin if Russia opted to use nuclear or chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Russia suffered yet another loss at the hands of Ukrainian forces supported by Western military aid when the warning was issued. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine paid a surprise visit to the recently recovered town of Izium on Wednesday.
As the Kremlin’s front line retreats eastward, Ukrainian forces, bolstered by Western military backing, have successfully pushed Russia back from important cities.
Biden’s statement comes a day after his administration promised to give an additional $600 million in military help to Ukraine, which recaptured another major city from Russian forces on Wednesday.
According to the White House, this is the twenty-first time the Defense Department has delivered guns and other equipment to Ukraine.
The shipment will include more of the ammunition and equipment that helped Ukrainian forces repel Russian forces in parts of the east and south.
Recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky helped fly his country’s flag over the retaken Russian bastion of Izyum as he hailed a dramatic counterattack that defeated Putin’s soldiers in the country’s north.
In the wake of Russia’s most recent battlefield humiliation, a military spokesman stated, “Ukraine is reclaiming its territory.” As a result, the prospect of an overall victory against Putin’s soldiers is spreading across the country.
Zelensky (seen in Izyum) had lauded the advances of his men in a nighttime address, as the possibility of driving Russian troops out of the nation grew.
While Russian news agencies attempted to minimize Ukraine’s achievements, Zelensky (right) returned to Kyiv on Friday to give the Hero Rescuer of the Year honors in an effort to strengthen national solidarity.
The victory occurred less than a week after Ukraine seized the city of Balakliya, as soldiers were spotted celebrating alongside locals freed from Russian authority.
Now under Ukrainian control are the cities of Izyum, Kupyansk, and Vovchansk, which served as staging areas for the Kremlin’s attacks in the region and have crucial railway connections for supplying ammunition and other supplies to its fighters.
Moscow’s recent military defeat in northeast Ukraine was its worst since it withdrew its soldiers from territories near Kiev more than five months ago.
In a statement regarding the United States’ commitment to Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: ‘With amazing courage and resolve, the Ukrainian people are protecting their homes and fighting for their future.
The assets we are supplying have been meticulously calibrated to have the greatest impact on the battlefield and bolster Ukraine’s position at the bargaining table when the moment is right.
Pictured: Rubble in the city of Izyum, which was left in ruins by departing Russian forces and liberated by Ukrainian troops.
Friday, government officials in Izyum accounted for 440 distinct graves associated with the ongoing violence in Ukraine.
The United States has pledged an additional $600 million in military aid to Ukraine, bringing its total contribution to $15.9 billion.
The decision to move swiftly on new aid – on the heels of a nearly $2.9 billion infusion of aid and financing support announced last week and more than $3 billion announced in late August – underscores the U.S. intention to ensure that Ukraine can sustain its stunning counteroffensive, which was launched at the beginning of the month.
This most recent investment included $2.2 billion in long-term military financing that Blinken announced during his visit to Ukraine last week, as well as a $675 million weapons package that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin unveiled in Europe on the same day.
The United States declared that the $2.2 billion that Blinken promised in Kyiv is for Ukraine and 18 of its neighbors, including NATO allies and regional security partners, who are potentially at risk of future Russian assault.
The current shipment of weaponry systems puts the total U.S. aid to Ukraine since Biden’s inauguration to roughly $15.9 billion.
Noting that Russia still has large troops and resources, U.S. officials observing the counteroffensive have avoided prematurely declaring victory.
And they are wary of what Putin might do to reverse the situation.
But U.S. authorities have also made it plain that the precision weaponry and rocket systems provided by the U.S. and its partners – such as the High-mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, and the High-speed Anti-radiation Missile, or HARM – were crucial to the rapid change in momentum.