President Joe Biden threatened on Monday Russian President Vladimir Putin The use of tactical nuclear weapons is “real” days after Russia condemned the deployment of such weapons in Belarus.
On Saturday, Biden called Putin’s announcement that Russia would deploy its first tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus “absolutely irresponsible”.
“When I came here two years ago and said I was concerned about the Colorado River drying up, everybody looked at me like I was crazy,” Biden told a group of donors in California on Monday. “
Biden said, “They looked at me like I said I was concerned about Putin’s use of strategic nuclear weapons. It’s real.”
Belarus takes delivery of tactical nuclear weapons
Last week, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said his country had begun taking Delivery of Russian strategic nuclear weaponsSome of which he said were three times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped by the US on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
The deployment is Russia’s first move outside Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union to deploy such weapons – shorter-range, less powerful nuclear weapons that can be used on the battlefield.
The United States has said it has no intention of changing its stance on strategic nuclear weapons in response to the deployment and has seen no indication that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons.
In May, Russia rejected Biden’s criticism of his plan for strategic deployment nuclear weapon in Belarus, adding that the US has deployed such nuclear weapons in Europe for decades.
The Russian deployment is being closely monitored by the United States and its allies, as well as by China, which has repeatedly cautioned against the use of nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine.