UN says it would respond if Russia launched a nuclear attack on Ukraine

VOA|WASHINGTON: The United States has warned Russia of “serious consequences” if it uses nuclear weapons in its war in Ukraine, according to Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser to President Joe Biden, who spoke to the media on Sunday.

Sullivan, who was a guest on the ABC television show this week, said that US officials had specifically told their Russian counterparts that President Biden would “respond publicly” if Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a nuclear attack, but he did not. say how the US will respond.

The US response came after President Putin hinted at the possibility of a nuclear strike, after last week he recalled up to 300,000 reserve troops to help fight the seven-month war in Ukraine.

The increase in these forces came after Russia suffered a setback in the opening of the war, as Kyiv forces recaptured large swathes of territory in North-Eastern Ukraine, which Russia had captured in the previous weeks of the war.

Mass demonstrations against Putin’s call to recall the reserve forces took place in Russia, with the police arresting hundreds of demonstrators in the Russian capital Moscow and other cities in the country.