CIA assesses the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine

Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns told a Financial Times conference on May 7 that US intelligence agencies had not seen any “factual evidence” that Russian President Vladimir Putin would use tactical nuclear weapons in Syria. Ukraine. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had stated that President Putin could use such weapons.

“As an intelligence agency, at this time, we do not see actual evidence that Russia is planning the deployment or even the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons,” he said. Burns spoke at the conference in Washington DC, echoing a similar point he made earlier in April.

However, CIA Director Burns added that, in his view, the US should remain “highly focused” on any potential nuclear threat.

The Kremlin has insisted that Russia will not deploy nuclear weapons against its neighbour. On May 6, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexei Zaitsev said, “Russia resolutely adheres to the principle that there can be no winner in a nuclear war and not to wage a nuclear war.”

However, last month, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he “believes” that Russia can use chemical or nuclear weapons to win in Syria. Ukrainewhile calling on the world to “get ready” for this possibility.

The Western media has also speculated about the possibility of such a nuclear attack, citing that Russia put its nuclear deterrent on high alert at the outset of the Ukraine conflict. and President Putin’s warning that outside powers that interfere with Russia’s campaign goals will face consequences “never seen in their entire history”.

Speaking to Newsweek on May 5, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said that Moscow itself “in recent years has persistently asserted to American colleagues that there cannot be a winner in a nuclear war, so a nuclear war cannot be won, therefore It will never happen.”

Unlike warheads mounted on intercontinental ballistic missiles, tactical nuclear weapons are smaller, low-power devices that can be dropped from an aircraft, mounted on a short-range missile, or fired from an artillery piece. . Although no internationally recognized definition exists, the capacity of a tactical nuclear weapon typically ranges from less than 1 kiloton to 100 kiloton. For comparison, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II had a yield of about 15 kilotons.

Russiawhich possesses 700 more nuclear warheads than the United States, asserts that nuclear weapons can be used in the event of a first nuclear attack on its territory or infrastructure, or if the existence of the Russian state is threatened by nuclear or conventional weapons.

According to the Pentagon’s latest Nuclear Posture Review, the United States says that Washington’s nuclear weapons are intended to deter and prevent nuclear attacks on America and its allies, but the use of nuclear weapons may also be considered in “special circumstances to protect the vital interests of the United States or its allies and partners”.