U.S. prepared for potential Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in late 2022 - media

Two high-ranking officials from the Joe Biden administration revealed this to CNN, Ukrinform reports.

According to one of the interlocutors, the relevant fear "was not just hypothetical ­ it was also based on some information that we picked up."

From late summer to fall 2022, the U.S. National Security Council convened a series of meetings to develop contingency plans.

The Biden administration believed that Russia's "loss" of previously captured Kherson at the end of 2022 could become a "potential trigger" for the use of nuclear weapons as Russia eyes their use in the face of "existential threats to the Russian state," a high-ranking official said. Also, Russia may consider a tactical nuclear strike as a deterrent against further losses of territory under its control in Ukraine, as well as against any potential attack on Russia itself.

At the same time, Russian propaganda was circulating a fake spin about the Ukrainian "dirty bomb". American and Western officials rejected the hoax, but were concerned about the motivation behind the effort, noting that these claims were “not grounded in reality”. Officials found "more concerning" that the Russians would say such things "either as a pretext for them to do something crazy or as a cover for something they themselves were looking at doing," including, as a cover for a Russian nuclear attack.

Later, Western intelligence agencies were tipped that Russian officials were openly discussing the possibility of a nuclear strike. One of the officials noted that this was discussed “at the lower levels of the Russian system.”

However, the US has never received any intelligence that would indicate that Russia was actually taking steps to mobilize its nuclear forces. However, U.S. officials were not sure they would be aware of Russia moving tactical nuclear weapons because, unlike strategic nuclear arms, tactical or combat nuclear weapons are small enough to be quietly moved and used from conventional systems already deployed on battlefield in Ukraine.

The U.S. has also worked closely with its allies both to develop contingency plans in the event of a Russian nuclear strike and to provide warnings to the Russian side about the implications of such a strike. In addition, the U.S. tried to enlist support of governments beyond the Alliance, particularly China and India, to discourage Russia from the attack.

For now, American and European officials believe that the danger diminished as the war in eastern Ukraine entered a period of relative stalemate. However, the U.S. and its allies remain vigilant, the report reads.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Washington referred to Russian President Putin's statements about the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons as "irresponsible rhetoric" and recalled that the United States had warned Russia about possible implications of such a move.