The White House has set up a team of experts to plan how the United States could respond should Russia use weapons of mass destruction - chemical, biological or nuclear - during its invasion of Ukraine, senior administration officials said on Thursday.
Russia has repeatedly raised the prospect of using nuclear weapons as it struggles to overcome Ukraine's military during the month-old war that the Russian government calls a "special operation." This week, the Kremlin said such weapons would only be used in the case of an "existential threat."
The strategy group is working "to monitor and mitigate risks, while considering how to advance and defend U.S. interests," one U.S. official said. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said on CNN that it is incumbent on the United States to think about contingencies. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels on Thursday that there are ongoing concerns Russia may be trying to create a pretext for its own actions by accusing Ukraine and its allies of using chemical weapons. Echoing U.S. officials, he said the accusations are a pretext for Russia to do the same.
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