A new U.S. strategy blueprint warns that Russia could become reliant on nuclear weapons over the next decade.
President Joe Biden may have provided Russian President Vladimir Putin with an off-ramp to end the war in Ukraine and avoid escalation that could lead to nuclear conflict—but it’s not clear if Putin will take it.
Biden suggested in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday that Putin « could just flat leave, and still probably hold his position together in Russia, » as questions have arisen about whether the Kremlin resident can stay in power without winning some kind of victory.
Biden said Putin might be able to tell the Russian people « that this something that he thought made sense, but now he’s accomplished what he wanted to do, and it’s time to bring Russians home. »
These comments came ahead of the publication of the Biden administration’s new National Security Strategy (NSS) on Wednesday, which directly addressed potential nuclear threats from Russia as well as competition with China over the next decade.
« Russia’s conventional military will have been weakened, which will likely increase Moscow’s reliance on nuclear weapons in its military planning, » the NSS said.
« The United States will not allow Russia, or any power, to achieve its objectives through using, or threatening to use, nuclear weapons, » the strategy blueprint read.
Putin has previously said he would use « all available means to protect Russia and our people » and Russian opposition leader Nikolay Rybakov has warned that the West shouldn’t underestimate Putin’s willingness to use nuclear weapons.
