Russian nuclear deterrence: Washington denounces an “unacceptable” escalation


The alert of the Russian nuclear “deterrent force” represents an “unacceptable” escalation, the United States denounced on Sunday, accusing Vladimir Putin of “manufacturing threats that do not exist”.

“This is a repeated pattern that we have seen from President Putin during this conflict, which is to fabricate threats that do not exist in order to justify continued aggression,” the door said. – White House spokesperson Jen Psaki. “At no time has Russia been threatened by NATO or Ukraine (…) We will resist this. We have the ability to defend ourselves,” she added, interviewed on ABC.

This announcement from Moscow “means that President Putin is continuing to escalate this war, in a way that is totally unacceptable,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told CBS. “We must continue to denounce his actions in the strongest possible way,” she added.

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The Russian deterrent forces are a set of units whose purpose is to deter an attack on Russia, “including in the event of war involving the use of nuclear weapons”, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Putin justified this decision by the “bellicose declarations of NATO” towards Russia.

The Russian measure is conducive to “escalation”, denounced a US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity. It “clearly brings forces into play which, if miscalculated, could make things much, much more dangerous,” he warned.

He also described this alert as “unnecessary”, Russia having “never been under a threat from the West”.

Questioned by journalists, he did not want to say whether the United States planned a response involving a change of position concerning its own nuclear forces.

“We remain confident in our ability to defend ourselves and our allies and partners. And that involves the area of ​​strategic deterrence,” he simply commented.

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