BRUSSELS: A Russian nuclear strike would change the course of the conflict and almost certainly provoke a “physical response” from Ukraine’s allies and potentially from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a senior NATO official said on Wednesday (Oct 12).
Any use of nuclear weapons by Moscow would have “unprecedented consequences” for Russia, the official said on the eve of a closed-door meeting of NATO’s nuclear planning group on Thursday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said a nuclear strike by Moscow would “almost certainly be drawing a physical response from many allies, and potentially from NATO itself”.
Still Moscow appears to be using its nuclear threats mainly to deter NATO and other countries from directly entering its war on Ukraine, he added.
More than seven months into the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has suffered huge losses in men and equipment and been beaten back on several fronts within the last month.
President Vladimir Putin in response has proclaimed the annexation of Ukrainian territories only partly under Russian control, and threatened to defend them with nuclear weapons.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said last month the United States has made clear to Moscow the “catastrophic consequences” it would face if it used a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.
Sullivan did not publicly describe the nature of the planned US response, however.
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