Biden: No real prospect of Putin using nuclear weapons

U.S. President Joe Biden said on July 13 that there is no real prospect of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin using nuclear weapons against Ukraine or the West.

"Not only the West, but China and the rest of the world have said: don't go there," Biden said at a press conference in Helsinki with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.

The U.S. president was commenting on the likelihood of a nuclear strike due to growing disarray among the Russian leadership, particularly following the Wagner Group rebellion on June 23-24.

As the West is ramping up military support for Ukraine, Russian officials are responding with open or veiled nuclear threats against Kyiv and its partners.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the provision of the U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets will be treated by the Kremlin as a "nuclear threat," as these aircraft are capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has also threatened to strike nuclear facilities in Ukraine and elsewhere in Eastern Europe and said that the increased NATO support for Ukraine could lead to World War III.

Ukraine's officials have warned that the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been mined by the Russian forces in preparation for a nuclear terror attack.

Locals near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant brace for potential disaster: ‘It would be the end of us’

Editor’s note: For this story, the Kyiv Independent talked to residents who live in Russian-occupied settlements in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. For their safety, we have changed their names. From the rooftop of his home, Anton can easily see the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear plant…

The Kyiv IndependentDaria Shulzhenko