In the latter part of 2022, the US began “preparing rigorously” for a potential nuclear strike by Russia on Ukraine, which would have marked the first such attack since the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki nearly eighty years ago.
The Biden administration was particularly worried about the prospect of Russia employing a tactical or battlefield nuclear weapon, CNN reported, citing two officials. The administration’s alarming assessment was not based on a single indicator but on a combination of developments, analysis, and notably, highly sensitive new intelligence, the report said.
In late summer 2022, Ukrainian forces made significant advances towards Russian-occupied Kherson, posing a threat to Russian units. The potential loss of Kherson was seen as a “potential trigger” for Russia to consider using nuclear weapons, given the catastrophic implications.
From late summer to fall 2022, the National Security Council reportedly held meetings to devise contingency plans for either an unambiguous indication of an imminent nuclear attack or an actual attack.
Simultaneously, Russia’s propaganda apparatus propagated a fabricated narrative about a Ukrainian dirty bomb, raising concerns among U.S. officials that it could serve as a pretext for a Russian nuclear strike, CNN added.
In October 2022, Russia’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, engaged in a series of phone conversations with defense officials from the U.S., U.K., France, and Turkey, expressing the Kremlin’s apprehension regarding potential provocations by Kyiv involving the deployment of a dirty bomb.
However, U.S. and other Western officials dismissed the Russian alerts, rejecting the validity of their warnings, the report stated.
The situation between Russia and Ukraine remains tense, with the threat of a nuclear strike still looming. The international community continues to monitor the situation closely, hoping for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
