New Delhi: US President Joe Biden warned against the threat of Russian President Vladimir Putin using nuke weapons and mentioned nuclear “Armageddon” indicating escalation in Russia-Ukraine conflict during a speech on Thursday. The US President also warned of “assault” on American institutions and said, “We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis”.
Biden was speaking at a fundraiser event for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee at the New York home of James Murdoch, the son of media baron Rupert Murdoch, reported news agency ANI.
Stressing that Putin is “not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons,” Biden said, “his military is — you might say — significantly underperforming.”
“I’m trying to figure out, what is Putin’s off-ramp?” Biden added, as per the news agency. Biden tried to hit out at Putin saying, “Where does he find a way out? Where does he find himself in a position that he does not only lose face but lose significant power within Russia?”
According to a pool report cited by ANI, Biden said, “I don’t think there is any such thing as the ability to easily use a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.”
Putin renewed his nuclear threats after declaring the annexation of Ukrainian territory, some of which Russia doesn’t control along with the call to mobilise 300,000 reservists to reinforce his flagging invasion.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin had said to use nuclear weapon in Ukraine if Russian “territorial integrity” was threatened, which triggered deep discourse in the West.
“Those who are trying to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the wind can also turn in their direction,” Putin said, adding: “This is not a bluff.”
(With ANI Inputs)