White House Sees No Indication Russia Is Preparing Nuclear Attack After Biden’s ‘Armageddon’ Warning

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC News on Sunday that President Joe Biden's comments this week suggesting Russia's war in Ukraine could escalate to a nuclear "Armageddon" were not based on any new intel.

Kirby said on This Week that the U.S. has not seen any new indications that Putin has decided to use nuclear weapons.

The comments come three days after Biden compared the current situation to the Cuban missile crisis, saying there was a "direct threat of the use" of a nuclear weapon if things continue down the path they are going.

The Department of Defense said there was no new intelligence to suggest Russia was about to use nuclear weapons.

When a leader of modern nuclear power is willing to use irresponsible rhetoric the way Mr. Putin has, the stakes are very high.

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We're keeping a close eye on this. Kirby told ABC that there has been no indication that Mr. Putin has made a decision to use nuclear weapons.

Over the past month, Russian troops have faced significant losses on the battlefield, as Putin has increased his rhetoric. The international community considers Russia's attempt to annex territories in the east and south of the country to be illegal. Putin said last month that Russia had lots of weapons to respond to threats to the country'sterritorial integrity. He said that Russia was prepared to defend itself. The international community was concerned that Russia might deploy nuclear weapons in response to the gains of the Ukrainians. Biden asked "Where does he find a way out?" during the Democratic event in New York. Where does he find himself in a situation where he loses face and loses power in Russia?

Tangent

Reports emerged that 17 people had died in a fire in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. There was an explosion Saturday that destroyed parts of Russia's only bridge to the peninsula. The Washington Post was told by a Ukrainian government official that it was behind the assault. The country did not publicly take responsibility for the destruction.

The Pentagon doesn't think Putin is going to use nukes.

The annexation of Ukrainian regions was signed by Putin.

Here is what it means for Putin's war efforts.