What does the director of the CIA say about the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine?

On May 7, at a Financial Times conference in Washington DC, CIA Director William Burns said that US intelligence agencies have not seen any “facts” that Russian President Vladimir Putin will use tactical nuclear weapons use in Ukraine. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Putin could use such weapons.

“At this point, we don’t see any actual evidence that Russia plans to deploy or even potentially use tactical nuclear weapons,” Burns said. This statement is similar to what he said at the beginning of April 2022.

However, Mr. Burns added that in his view, President Putin “doesn’t believe he can lose”, and therefore the US should remain “highly focused” on the potential nuclear threat.

The Kremlin insists that Russia will not deploy nuclear weapons against neighboring Ukraine, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexei Zaitsev said on May 6: “Russia resolutely adheres to the principle of ‘there can be no fighters’ win a nuclear war’.

However, last month, President Zelensky said that Russia could use chemical or nuclear weapons to win Ukraine, and called on the world to “get ready” for this possibility.

Much of the Western media also speculated on the possibility of such a nuclear attack, citing that Russia had placed its nuclear deterrent forces on high alert at the outset of the Ukraine conflict. . In addition, Putin once warned that foreign powers that interfere in Russia’s special military operation will face consequences “unprecedented in all history”.

Speaking to Newsweek on May 5, Russia’s ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, said that Moscow itself “in recent years has persistently suggested to the American side that there can be no winner in a nuclear war.” , so this will never happen”.

Unlike warheads mounted on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), tactical nuclear weapons are smaller, flexible devices that can be dropped from an aircraft, often mounted on missiles. short range or fired from artillery. Their energy levels typically vary from less than one kiloton to 100 kilotons. For reference, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II had the equivalent of 15 kilotons.

Russia, which possesses 700 more nuclear warheads than the United States, asserts that it can use nuclear weapons in the event of a nuclear attack on its territory or infrastructure, or if the existence of a nuclear weapon. state’s existence is threatened.