US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he doubted Russian President Vladimir Putin would deploy a tactical nuclear bomb. Instead, Ukraine begged for a quick boost in Western military help to protect its towns from missile attacks.
In response to an alleged Ukrainian assault on Russia’s bridge to the occupied Crimea this weekend, the Russian president authorized missile attacks on Monday under pressure from his people to escalate the conflict. As a result, his troops have been losing territory since early September.
Recently, Moscow has taken steps to annex other parts of Ukraine after internationally condemning illegal referendums, rallied hundreds of thousands of Russians to fight, and repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons, raising anxiety in the West.
In a CNN interview, Biden claimed Putin is an “intelligent actor who has greatly misjudged.”
When asked if he thought it was likely that Putin would use a tactical nuclear bomb, Biden said, “Well, I don’t think he would.”
According to a European official, NATO was contemplating holding a fictitious conference to discuss the alliance’s reaction to Russia’s nuclear threats, the takeover of Ukrainian land, and army mobilization.
According to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, NATO has not seen any change in Russia’s nuclear posture due to the threats.
As the country’s cities came under fresh Russian missile attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he anticipates a favorable reaction to his pleas for a quick boost in military help from Western allies in Brussels on Wednesday.
READ MORE: “I think Putin would not use a tactical nuclear weapon”: Joe Biden
Zelenskiy requested more excellent air defense capabilities from the Group of Seven leaders on Tuesday in response to the onslaught of Russian missiles that began on Monday. But, for “as long as it takes,” the G7 agreed to stand behind Kiev.
On the eve of a meeting of the NATO defense ministers, the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, a coalition of around 50 nations headed by the United States, will convene in Brussels on Wednesday.
In a Tuesday evening speech, Zelenskiy added, “I am hoping from our partners development on questions of anti-aircraft and anti-missile defences and agreements on fresh supply of various weapons and ammunition crucial for us.”
On Tuesday evening, the Ukrainian military reported that more than ten cities, including Lviv, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Zaporizhzhia, had been hit by Russian missile attacks. As a result, for the second day in a row, air raid sirens blasted early across the nation.
The Ukrainian armed forces said that the occupants had resorted to large-scale missile attacks during the previous 24 hours, using more than 30 cruise missiles, seven airstrikes, and 25 incidents of shelling.
More than 100 Russian soldiers were reportedly killed in the southern Kherson district, according to the Ukrainian leadership. Reuters could not independently verify the combat accounts.
The action on Tuesday was less intensive than the day before, when Moscow launched its most potent aerial attack since the beginning of its invasion on February 24. Then, dozens of strikes resulted in the deaths of 19 people, more than 100 injuries, and the nationwide loss of electricity.
A presidential adviser said that more missile attacks on Tuesday left a portion of the western city of Lviv without electricity and seven people dead in the southeast town of Zaporizhzhia.
Oleksii Reznikov, the defense minister of Ukraine, welcomed the arrival from the US of four more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), whose precision and increased range have helped Ukraine to lessen Russia’s artillery superiority.
He said on Twitter that “HIMARS time” was “good for Ukrainians and terrible for the invaders.”
According to a source in the German defense ministry, Ukraine got the first of the four IRIS-T air defense systems that Germany agreed to provide. According to American officials, Ukraine will get NASAMS air defenses more quickly. Over $16.8 billion worth of security assistance from Washington has already given to Ukraine throughout the conflict.
