1 week ago
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Russia had seriously considered using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but was dissuaded from doing so by China, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
Amid repeated nuclear threats from Moscow, Washington's top diplomat told the Financial Times that Beijing had "engaged Russia and said, 'don't go there.'"
Newsweek has contacted the Russian and Chinese foreign ministries for comment by email.
Why It Matters
Since the start of his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and his propagandists have made repeated threats about its nuclear arsenal, stoking fears that Moscow might resort to such weapons in its full-scale invasion.
Western sanctions have meant that China is Russia's biggest trading partner and the prospect that it exerted pressure on Moscow in the war signals the influence Beijing might have in atomic weapons not being used in the war.
What To Know
Blinken was asked by the FT how seriously Washington took Putin's nuclear saber rattling, which was considered a reason why the U.S. did not provide Ukraine with certain long-range weapons over the war for fear of escalation.
Blinken told the newspaper that Washington was "very concerned" about the prospect Putin would use nuclear weapons and that even if the probability "went from 5 to 15 percent, when it comes to nuclear weapons, nothing is more serious."
"We have reason to believe that China engaged Russia and said, 'don't go there,'" he said.
The FT article published on Friday said that Blinken believed a "similar dynamic" was at play when the U.S. told China that the Russian president was planning to put a nuclear weapon in space.
Blinken said that Putin had suffered a "strategic defeat" with NATO bigger than ever since its invasion and its members spending more on helping Ukraine. "I don't think anyone can complain that they haven't done their fair share," he said.
Blinken also rejected criticism that the Biden administration had delayed providing weapons, saying issues such as whether Kyiv can operate and maintain the systems were factors in decision making.
In November, the Biden administration dropped its restrictions on Ukraine using long-range weapons like ATACMS to strike targets inside Russia. U.S intelligence officials cited by Reuters said this decision had not increased the risk of a Russian nuclear attack.
In November, Putin signed a decree which changed Russia's nuclear doctrine, lowering the threshold for atomic weapons use. This coincided with a strike by Russia's nuclear-capable hypersonic Oreshnik missile on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
What People Are Saying
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the FT: "We have reason to believe that China engaged Russia and said, 'don't go there.'"
An unnamed U.S. congressional aide told Reuters: "The assessments were consistent: The ATACMs weren't going to change Russia's nuclear calculus."
Vladimir Putin said in December: "What we need now is not to improve the nuclear doctrine, but the (hypersonic missile) Oreshnik."
What Happens Next
The war has rolled into another year and it is unclear whether Putin will continue to reiterate his nuclear threats which remain ambiguous, especially as military analysts say they would deliver no military advantage in Ukraine.
Putin's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said at the end of December that Moscow will safeguard its national interests "by any means necessary."
However, Putin boasted about the capabilities of the Oreshnik hypersonic missile fired on Dnipro saying its destructive power meant "a sufficient number" of the systems would mean there would be "virtually no need" for nuclear weapons.
"What we need now is not to improve the nuclear doctrine, but the Oreshnik," Putin told the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, according to Russian state media.
