White House: US will ‘respond decisively’ if Russia uses nuclear weapons

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said the United States will “respond decisively” if Russian President Vladimir Putin orders the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, while Moscow has advised Washington of its nuclear “red line”.

“We have communicated directly, privately, at very high levels, to the Kremlin that any use of nuclear weapons will be met with catastrophic consequences for Russia, that the United States and our allies will respond decisively. And we have been clear and specific about what that will entail,” Sullivan told CBS “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan on Sunday.

“We have, in public, been equally clear as a matter of principle that the United States will respond decisively if Russia uses nuclear weapons, and that we will continue to support Ukraine in its efforts to defend its country and defend its democracy.”

US President Joe Biden has warned Putin against thoughts of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, adding that it would “change the face of war unlike anything since WWII.”

Biden said last week Moscow would become a global pariah if it uses weapons of mass destruction on the former Soviet state.

Putin last week hinted at being willing to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Putin in a nationwide address last Wednesday called up to 300,000 reservists to aid Russia, also threatening to use the country’s nuclear weapons.

“This is not a bluff,” Putin said. “And those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the weathervane can turn and point towards them.”

In response to Biden's warning, Putin's Spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave reporters this short answer, "Read the doctrine. Everything is written there," RIA Novosti reported.

The Russian nuclear doctrine allows the country to use nukes in two conditions. First, when "Russia  or its ally [is under attack] with the use of mass destruction weapons," and second, "when the very existence of the state is under threat."

Russia’s former President and current Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev announced on Thursday that Russia would be willing to use “strategic nuclear weapons” to defend itself.

ME