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The White House has said that Joe Biden’s warning of “Armageddon” if Russia uses a nuclear weapon in Ukraine was not based on any new intelligence suggesting such nuclear use is imminent.
The US president issued his warning at a private fundraising event in New York on Thursday evening, in his most outspoken remarks yet on the threat of wartime nuclear weapons being used for the first time since 1945.
Biden described the current standoff over Ukraine, with Vladimir Putin threatening to use all means at his disposal to defend Russia and the territory it has seized in Ukraine, as the most dangerous nuclear moment since the Cuban missile crisis 60 years ago this month.
“He is not joking when he talks about the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons,” Biden told donors. “I don’t think there’s any such thing as an ability to easily use a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.”
The remarks marked a departure from Biden’s normally cautious tone in response to Putin’s threats, but the White House spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, said on Friday they did not reflect any new intelligence from the Ukraine conflict, adding that there was no information of Russia preparing to “imminently” use nuclear weapons.
“The president was speaking about concerns about Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons,” Jean-Pierre said.
