Biden Must Deter Putin from Nuclear Weapon Use

Russia’s war against Ukraine has raised new fears of nuclear war. Though the thought of a nuclear war is new to many Americans, the Russian nuclear threat has been building for years. Strategists in the Trump administration believed it was imperative to correct the Russian view that threatening to use a nuclear weapon, including a low-yield weapon, against the West would work. The sense of urgency and national imperative was reflected in U.S. policy documents, the budget, and weapons deployments. Trump himself reportedly warned Putin, “If you want to have an arms race, we can do that, but I’ll win.” The Biden administration’s actions point in the other direction — they seem to confirm the Russian view that threatening to use such nuclear weapons against us works. Barring a sharp and immediate change in the Biden administration’s approach, we should expect Russia’s nuclear threats to continue and should not count on them being a bluff.

On Sunday Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on CNN that he believes that the Russians could employ a nuclear weapon in Ukraine. That fits with the comments of CIA Director William Burns, who a few days prior said that the U.S. cannot “take lightly” the chance that Russia would use tactical nuclear weapons. Soon after Russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine, citing NATO actions to side with Ukraine, Putin announced that he had ordered his military to put its nuclear weapons on “special alert.” And now that Sweden and Finland are taking another hard look at a bid for NATO membership, Russia responded by signaling more nuclear-weapons deployments.

About the Author

Rebeccah Heinrichs

Rebeccah Heinrichs is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and the director of Hudson’s Keystone Defense Initiative.

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Russia’s war against Ukraine has raised new fears of nuclear war. Though the thought of a nuclear war is new to many Americans, the Russian nuclear threat has been building for years. Strategists in the Trump administration believed it was imperative to correct the Russian view that threatening to use a nuclear weapon, including a low-yield weapon, against the West would work. The sense of urgency and national imperative was reflected in U.S. policy documents, the budget, and weapons deployments. Trump himself reportedly warned Putin, “If you want to have an arms race, we can do that, but I’ll win.” The Biden administration’s actions point in the other direction — they seem to confirm the Russian view that threatening to use such nuclear weapons against us works. Barring a sharp and immediate change in the Biden administration’s approach, we should expect Russia’s nuclear threats to continue and should not count on them being a bluff.

On Sunday Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on CNN that he believes that the Russians could employ a nuclear weapon in Ukraine. That fits with the comments of CIA Director William Burns, who a few days prior said that the U.S. cannot “take lightly” the chance that Russia would use tactical nuclear weapons. Soon after Russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine, citing NATO actions to side with Ukraine, Putin announced that he had ordered his military to put its nuclear weapons on “special alert.” And now that Sweden and Finland are taking another hard look at a bid for NATO membership, Russia responded by signaling more nuclear-weapons deployments.