CIA chief reveals nuclear threat during Ukraine counteroffensive
During an event organized by the "Financial Times" in London, CIA Director William Burns admitted that in 2022, "there was a genuine risk of ... the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons." This took place during the Ukrainian army's fall counteroffensive, he emphasized.
The CIA Director acknowledged that the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the fall of 2022 raised U.S. vigilance. There were growing concerns that Ukraine's territorial gains would lead Kremlin authorities to resort to the ultimate weapon—tactical nuclear weapons.
"There was a moment in the fall of 2022 when I think there was a genuine risk of ... the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons," William Burns admitted during a joint panel with the head of British MI6.
White House intervention
Burns said that Joe Biden reacted at that time. The U.S. President instructed the CIA Director to speak with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Naryshkin urgently. He was to remind him of the consequences that would follow the potential use of nuclear weapons.
Previously, in February 2023, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked the authorities of China and India for helping dissuade Vladimir Putin from the intention of using tactical nuclear weapons.
Sabotage across Europe
The heads of the CIA and MI6 argue that Russia is conducting a sabotage campaign across Europe. In an article published in the Financial Times, they admitted that the United Kingdom and the U.S. face an "unprecedented array of threats," and the entire global order is under the most severe tension since the Cold War.
