The United States sees no indication that Russia has taken any action to prepare nuclear weapons for use during the war, but two sources familiar with the latest intelligence estimates told CNN that U.S. officials are more concerned about the threat than Russia. to use them more than ever since. The Cold War.
However, sources stressed that it is still unlikely that Russian President Vladimir Putin will use any type of nuclear weapon, and one source estimates the chances of using about 1%.
Admiral Charles Richard, head of the US Strategic Command, has provided Austin and other senior Pentagon officials with top-secret operations and intelligence on the state of Russia’s arsenal and any actions that could cause concern, according to defense officials. It includes contributions from the intelligence community, which is closely following statements by Putin and other senior Russian leaders. Officials stressed that if there were any sudden developments between the scheduled meetings, Austin and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Millie, would be briefed before updating the White House.
Monitoring every possible nuclear activity has always been a high priority for the Pentagon, but the urgency of the effort increased shortly after Russia launched its invasion in February, when Putin brought the country’s deterrent forces, including Moscow’s nuclear weapons, to the highest level. on standby.
“We have taken into account what Mr Putin said in the early days of this invasion. I think it is also important to add that there was no more of this rhetoric after this initial volley in the early days, but yes, you see, in the light of what is happening in Ukraine, and certainly in the light of the early rhetoric, we are actively monitoring every day, and even today, and even today, the secretary remains confident that we have an appropriate strategic deterrent and there is no need to make changes to it, “Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected a warning by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in an interview with CNN last week that Russia may be ready to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, stressing that Russia has historically been against the use of such weapons.
Highly secret US military plans continue to be updated on what everyone believes is an almost unthinkable scenario: the use of nuclear weapons. The U.S. military has “planned it all,” a senior defense official said. “There are a number of things that Russia can do. We have all the scenarios for what Putin can do, the consequences and the state of readiness of both Russian and American forces,” they added. The employee declined to give details. But American satellites and planes are constantly watching for signs of Russian movement. Intelligence on both sides will be able to “see” if the other moves its nuclear weapons, the official said.
The Biden administration has repeatedly said publicly that it sees no reason to change the state of concern of the American arsenal. CNN reported earlier that US reconnaissance flights have increased significantly. The intelligence collected during these flights is passed on to the Strategic Command’s Nuclear Command and Control Network to ensure that it becomes part of the overall nuclear intelligence assessment.
Richard recently hinted at a hearing in the House Armed Services Committee that the United States’ readiness to respond to the use of Russian nuclear weapons is the highest ever.
“Right now, all I’m going to say in open session is that the nation’s nuclear command and control is in the most protected and resilient group it has ever been in its history,” he told the group.
CNN’s Eli Kaufman contributed to this report.
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