US urges NATO vigilance for signs Russia could use nuclear weapon in Ukraine
World
US and its NATO allies must remain alert for signs Putin could use nuclear weapon in Ukraine.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. and its NATO allies must remain alert for signs Russian President Vladimir Putin could use a tactical nuclear weapon in a "managed" escalation of his war in Ukraine, the second-highest U.S. diplomat said on Tuesday.
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman issued the warning during the opening session of an annual NATO arms control conference that was being held in North America for the first time since its inception in 2004.
"We have all watched and worried that Vladimir Putin would use what he considers a non-strategic tactical nuclear weapon or use some demonstration effect to escalate, but in an managed risk escalation," Sherman said. "It is very critical to remain watchful of this."
Putin's March 25 announcement that Russia is preparing to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus "is his effort to use this threat in a managed way," Sherman said.
Tactical nuclear weapons are designed for battlefield gains or for use against limited military targets.
Putin denies having any intention of employing nuclear weapons in Ukraine, where his forces for months have been bogged down in fierce fighting that has been costly for both sides.
Belarus, which shares a border with Ukraine and NATO members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, provided a staging ground for part of the Russian force that invaded Ukraine in February 2022 in a failed bid to overrun the country.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who joined Sherman in opening the conference, called Putin's plan to place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus part of a years-long pattern of "dangerous, irresponsible nuclear rhetoric" that intensified with "the brutalization of Ukraine."
The alliance, he said, is "monitoring very closely what they (Russia) are doing."
Sherman said the United States would continue to "downgrade" intelligence for sharing with NATO's other 30 members "so that everyone knows...where we stand."
Zelenskiy, top US House Republican McCarthy discussed Russia sanctions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy discussed in a phone call Ukraine's need for weapons as well as increasing sanctions pressure on Russia.
On Twitter, Zelenskiy said he thanked McCarthy for bipartisan support in Congress for Ukraine as well as Ukraine's defense needs. "Outlined the situation at the front & Ukraine's urgent defense needs in armored vehicles, artillery, air defense & aircraft," Zelenskiy's tweet said.
He said they also discussed enhancing sanctions pressure on Russia, including in oil and gas.
A spokesman for McCarthy, the highest-ranking Republican in Washington, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
With strong support from both President Joe Biden's Democrats and McCarthy's fellow Republicans, Congress has approved billions of dollars of humanitarian, economic and defense aid for Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, including a $45 billion aid package approved in December.
However, some hard-right Republicans have questioned the aid, saying federal funds should be spent on domestic needs or devoted to competition with rising power China.
McCarthy's position has been that he backs Ukraine but House Republicans, who took control of the chamber in January, will not provide "a blank check" for U.S. assistance to Kyiv.
