President Joe Biden is questioning President Vladimir Putin's claims Russia will not use nuclear weapons in its war on Ukraine.
"If he has no intention, why does he keep talking about it?" he said during a Thursday interview with NewsNation. "Why does he talk about the ability to use a tactical nuclear weapon?
"He's been very dangerous in how he's approached this. He can end this all. Get out of Ukraine."
Putin, in a speech Thursday, denied ever having any intentions of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
"We see no need for that," Putin said. "There is no point in that, neither political, nor military."
"We do not need a nuclear strike on Ukraine, there is no point."
The network news said the Russian leader's comments came after weeks of threats from Moscow and fears of escalation in the wear.
In September, Putin had said if Russia's "territorial integrity" was threatened, "we will certainly use all the means at our disposal" to retaliate — and added "it's not a bluff."
Those comments prompted CIA Director William Burns to say it is difficult to determine if Putin is bluffing about his threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
But Burns added the U.S. has to take the warnings seriously.
"Well, we have to take very seriously his kind of threats given everything that's at stake," Burns said. "And, you know, the rhetoric that he and other senior Russian leaders have used is reckless and deeply irresponsible."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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