US Should Consider that Russia May Use Nuclear Weapons, Ex-Head of Joint Chiefs of Staff Says

The Kremlin previously stressed that according to its military doctrine, the first-strike use of nuclear armaments is only possible in situations where Russia faces an existential threat, thus responding to allegations circulating in the press that Moscow might use them in Ukraine.

Former head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen has stated that Washington should bear in mind the possibility of Russia using a nuclear weapon as part of its special military operation in Ukraine. At the same time, he expressed hope in his interview with ABC that the existing deterrence mechanisms work.

"It’s very difficult to know what Putin is thinking at any particular time. He’s obviously spoken to this. I think we need to make sure that we consider it as a possibility," he said.

Mullen, who served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff between 2007 and 2011, alleged that Russian President Putin is "pretty well cornered and boxed in" with the special military operation in Ukraine and thus the use of nuclear weapons can't be ruled out. Russia's nuclear posture clearly states that strategic nuclear weapons' first use is only possible in situations where there is an imminent existential threat to the country.

The former head of the American military command also stressed that the US, as a country which had used nuclear weapons in the past, should do everything it can to make sure they're not used again.

Moscow repeatedly denied it plans to walk away from its self-imposed rules on using nuclear weapons to use one in Ukraine, where it has been conducting the special military operation since 24 February. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov separately stressed that Moscow is not threatening any country with a nuclear war.

"We never play with concepts this dangerous. Never. We must all be committed to the statements of the 'nuclear five' - a nuclear war can never be triggered," Lavrov stressed.

US President Joe Biden, in turn, justified the refusal to meet Kiev's demands that it establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine by the necessity to avoid possible armed conflict with Russia. POTUS stressed that it might lead to a Third World War, in which escalation would ultimately result in the use of nuclear weapons.

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