Loser Putin may go nuclear, CIA warns
Russia’s setbacks in its invasion of Ukraine could lead President Vladimir Putin to resort to using a tactical or low-yield nuclear weapon, CIA director William Burns has warned.
“Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks they have faced so far, militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons,” Mr Burns said.
The Kremlin said it placed Russian nuclear forces on high alert shortly after the assault began on February 24.
“We are obviously very concerned. I know President Biden is deeply concerned about avoiding a third world war, about avoiding a threshold in which … nuclear conflict becomes possible.”
Russian military doctrine features a principle called escalate to de-escalate, which would involve launching a first-strike nuclear weapon of low yield to regain the initiative if things go badly in a conventional conflict.
But under this hypothesis, “NATO would intervene militarily on the ground in Ukraine in the course of this conflict, and that’s not something, as President Biden has made very clear, that’s in the cards,” Mr Burns added.
It comes as Russia’s Black Sea flagship sank after an explosion and fire that Ukraine claimed was a successful missile strike – and the Kremlin has accused Kyiv of targeting its citizens in sorties across the border.
The guided missile cruiser Moskva had been leading Russia’s naval effort against its neighbour in the sevenweek conflict, in which civilian killings have sparked accusations of genocide.
Russia’s defence ministry said the blast on the vessel was the result of exploding ammunition and added that the resulting damage had caused it to “lose its balance” as it was being towed to port.
“Given the choppy seas, the vessel sank,” the Russian state news agency TASS quoted the ministry as saying.
On the Ukrainian side, Odesa military spokesman Sergey Bratchuk said the ship had been hit by Ukrainian Neptune cruise missiles.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said he was unable to verify either version, but stressed the sinking of the Moskva dealt a “big blow” to the Black Sea fleet.
The development came after the US unveiled a new $US800m ($1bn) military aid package that includes heavy equipment specifically tailored to help Ukraine repel the Russians in the east, from howitzers to heavy personnel carriers and helicopters.
Ukrainian troops also said they had destroyed a bridge in Kharkiv while Russian troops were crossing it, taking out an entire column of invading forces that were heading towards the city of Izyum.
Pictures of the aftermath of the ambush showed a scene of devastation after carefully positioned explosives were detonated beneath the wheels of Russian Tigr, Kamaz and Ural military vehicles.
The attack came as Ukraine’s defence ministry said Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka were Russia’s next targets as Putin concentrates his forces in the east.
Almost 20,000 Russian soldiers have lost their lives, according to Ukraine, which also claims to have destroyed more than 750 enemy tanks.