Ukraine war: US, Nato prepare for Russian nuclear incident
- Senior US official said Washington is working with allies to deter Moscow from using weapons of mass destruction
- Concerns Putin will lash out after his military suffered heavy losses, with estimates that 7,000–15,000 Russian troops have died
The US is working with Nato to prepare for possible biological or nuclear attacks by Russia as the world’s leading developed nations plan to warn President Vladimir Putin against deploying such weapons.
As Russia’s invasion remains stalled one month into the conflict, a senior US official said Thursday that Washington is working with allies on preparation and deterrence postures over Russian weapons of mass destruction, as well as on potential medical and other countermeasures to help Ukraine.
The official spoke as President Joe Biden met with Nato leaders in Brussels, one day after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan played down the risks of a nuclear attack.
Group of Seven leaders plan to say that they will continue to impose “severe consequences” on Russia by fully implementing the sanctions that countries have already imposed and stand ready to apply additional measures.
“We task the relevant ministers in a focused initiative to monitor the full implementation of sanctions and to coordinate responses related to evasive measures, including regarding gold transactions by the Central Bank of Russia,” according to a draft of a joint statement that the leaders plan to issue Thursday.
Biden is in Brussels for a trio of summits with Nato, the G7 and the European Union as world leaders display their unity in countering Russia’s invasion and try to come up with measure to cope with the economic fallout.