News Feed

Biden: No real prospect of Putin using nuclear weapons

2 min read
Biden: No real prospect of Putin using nuclear weapons
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about his proposed Federal budget for the fiscal year 2024 at the Finishing Trades Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 9, 2023. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

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…
Article image
Avatar
Martin Fornusek

Senior News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

Read more
News Feed
Video

The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York speaks with former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton about U.S. President Donald Trump’s failure to bring peace to Ukraine — and his next steps on Russia's war.

Show More