USA warns Putin of catastrophic consequences if nuclear weapons used

Source: https://aol.it/3xREVOU
The United States would respond decisively to any Russian use
of nuclear weapons against Ukraine and has spelled out to Moscow
the "catastrophic consequences" it would face, U.S. National
Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday.
Sullivan's remarks represented the latest American warning following
the thinly veiled nuclear threat made by Vladimir Putin last
Wednesday in a speech in which the Russian president also announced
his country's first wartime military mobilization since World War
Two.
"If Russia crosses this line, there will be catastrophic consequences
for Russia. The United States will respond decisively," Sullivan told
NBC's "Meet the Press" program.
Sullivan did not describe the nature of the planned U.S. response
in his comments on Sunday but said the United States has privately
to Moscow "spelled out in greater detail exactly what that would
mean." Sullivan said that the United States has been in frequent,
direct contact with Russia, including during the last few days to
discuss the situation in Ukraine and Putin's actions and threats.
U.S. President Joe Biden in a speech at the United Nations General
Assembly in New York on Wednesday accused Putin of making "overt
nuclear threats against Europe" in reckless disregard for nuclear
nonproliferation responsibilities.
Russia also is staging a referendum in four eastern Ukrainian regions
with the goal of annexing territory that Russian forces have taken
during their invasion of Ukraine launched in February. Ukraine and
its allies have called the referendums a sham designed to justify an
escalation of the war and Putin's mobilization drive after recent
battlefield losses.
By incorporating the areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and
Zaporizhzhia into Russia, Moscow could portray attacks to retake
them as an attack on Russia itself, a warning to Ukraine and its
Western allies.
After suffering setbacks on the battlefield, Putin is mobilizing
300,000 troops while also threatening to use "all available means"
to protect Russia.
"This is not a bluff," Putin said in the remarks viewed on the world
stage as a threat on the potential use of nuclear weapons.
Sullivan said on Sunday: "Putin remains intent ... on wiping out the
Ukraine people that he does not believe have a right to exist. So
he's going to keep coming and we have to keep coming with weapons,
ammunition, intelligence and all the support we can provide."