US sees Russian nuclear position unchanged after Putin order

The United States affirmed that it has not detected any change “concrete” on Russia’s nuclear position following the order of President Vladimir Putin and confirmed that Russian troops are encountering resistance in their advance towards Kiev.creative” of the Ukrainians.

Russian President Vladimir Putin put his country’s deterrent forces, including nuclear weapons, on alert on Sunday, sparking a wave of global protests.

“We are monitoring and following the issue very closely”, a senior Pentagon official told reporters on Monday. “I don’t think we have seen anything concrete as a result of his decision. At least not for now”, he added.

This official acknowledged that it was “hard to know what was behind Putin’s order”. But “the mere fact of mentioning” or “to threat” with a “use of nuclear forces” is “useless and represents a major escalation” in his invasion of Ukraine, lamented this official, who reaffirmed that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the shared defense alliance between the United States and European countries, “never” has threatened Russia.

A spokesman for the US State Department also considered that this “provocative rhetoric about nuclear weapons” is “dangerous” and favors “the risks of incident”.

The United States did not change its nuclear position in response to Putin’s decision.

Russia’s ally Belarus held a referendum on Sunday that removes the obligation that the former Soviet republic remain a “nuclear-weapon-free zone.

Western powers have denounced this move, which they believe could allow Moscow to transfer nuclear weapons to Belarus, another neighbor of Ukraine that also borders several countries in the transatlantic alliance.

When asked if movements of this type have been observed, the Pentagon official replied that “no”.

He also assured that at the moment there is no evidence that there are Belarusian soldiers in Ukraine as a reinforcement of the Russian forces.

“Nothing indicates that there are Belarusian soldiers in battle array to enter Ukraine or that they have entered or are entering” in the country, he explained. “As far as we know, the forces that have entered Ukraine are all Russian,” said.

what they have on hand

According to the official, Moscow brought into Ukrainian territory “almost 75%” of the combat forces that he has concentrated on the border in recent months, but sees his advance hampered.

Russia “strives” in his advance towards Kiev, but this continues “slowed down” on the fifth day of the invasion. During the last 24 hours, the main Russian column heading to the Ukrainian capital “has advanced about five kilometers” and is found “about 25 kilometers” of the city, estimated the Pentagon official.

“They were certainly held back and are frustrated by their lack of progress on the Kiev front.” insisted. “Ukrainians are very creative in resistance, they blow up bridges, they attack in small numbers, sometimes lightly armed but very effectively.”, he estimated.

According to him, “they use everything in their arsenal, from small arms to surface-to-air missiles, to try to stop the Russians”.

The latter are faced with the need to refuel ground vehicles “before” of what “they had foreseen”, the Pentagon said.

The US military believes that Moscow, which Washington says wants “surround Kiev”, could at some point change tactics and establish a “siege” to the Ukrainian capital.