- The United States has sought cooperation from non-aligned nations to deter Russia from carrying out a nuclear attack in 2022.
- The United States feared that a Ukrainian counterattack against Kherson could provoke Putin.
- U.S. officials told CNN that input from India and China may have influenced Russia's thinking.
The United States has asked non-aligned countries for help to deter Russia from carrying out a nuclear attack in 2022, a senior US administration official told CNN.
“One of the things we did was not only send a direct message to them, but also strongly encourage and pressure other countries that might be more considerate to do the same,” the report said. “We encouraged them by encouraging them.”
The official assessed that opinions from countries such as India and China “may have had some influence” on Russia's thinking.
“The concerns of Russia and the major powers in the Global South were also useful and persuasive factors, showing them what the cost of all this would be,” another US official told the outlet. Told.
Concerns that President Vladimir Putin may resort to using nuclear weapons are growing in 2022 after Russia's military faces a series of defeats and Ukraine launches a counterattack against the precious southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. Ta.
“If a significant number of Russian troops were overpowered, that is, if their lives were shattered, it was a kind of harbinger of a direct potential threat to Russian territory or the Russian state,” one of the officials said.
And as CNN reports, the Biden administration considers the town of Kherson, captured by President Putin, to be part of Russia itself, which could trigger the use of nuclear weapons as a deterrent to avoid further losses. I was worried that this might happen.
Russia's 'dirty bomb' claim
In October 2022, Russian propagandists also began disseminating articles suggesting that Ukraine was planning to use “dirty bombs” (devices containing both radioactive material and conventional explosives). .
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made this claim to the United States and many allies.
“Russia's public messages about the possibility of Ukraine using dirty bombs were completely outside the box, but we didn't see them as based on fact,” administration officials said. one person said.
But they added that there were concerns that Russia was making this claim as “an excuse to do something outlandish, or a cover for something they themselves are planning to do.”
Think tank War Research Institute Said At the time, the move was said to be “likely an attempt to delay or halt Western military aid” and “could undermine the NATO alliance with threatening calls.”
Nevertheless, one official said, “The risk level appears to be higher than at any other point.”
In June 2023, President Joe Biden said the Russian nuclear threat remains “real” following news that Russia had moved nuclear weapons to neighboring Belarus.
Last month, Putin made his most explicit nuclear threat yet after French President Emmanuel Macron suggested NATO could send troops to help Ukraine, an idea that the U.S. and This despite being rejected by other NATO allies.
“(Western countries) must realize that we too have weapons that can attack targets within our own territory,” he said, according to Reuters. “All of this really threatens conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Don't they understand that?”
