Should US Worry About Putin’s Nuclear Threat? Joe Biden’s Calm “No”

Washington: 

President Joe Biden and other top US officials played down the threat of Russia’s “dangerous” nuclear mobilisation Monday as the war in Ukraine intensified with more arms being sent to Kyiv by the West.

Asked if Americans should be worried about nuclear war after President Vladimir Putin said he was putting his strategic forces on alert, Biden gave a calm “no” in response.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington sees “no reason” to change the alert levels of the US nuclear force, and a senior defense official said the Pentagon had not seen any palpable shift by the Russians despite Putin’s Sunday announcement.

The Pentagon continues to “review and analyse and monitor” Russia’s posture, said Defense Department spokesman John Kirby.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin “is comfortable with the strategic deterrence posture of the United States and our ability to defend the homeland,” Kirby told reporters.