War in Ukraine: US Creates Contingency Plans in Case Putin Uses His Most Powerful Weapons

Against the Russian army, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on NATO to provide his country with “unrestricted military aid”, and anti-ship missiles could thus be books. On Thursday 24 March, Brussels hosted three summits: NATO, the G7 and the European Union; US President Joe Biden met there with the leaders of 28 other countries to find an appropriate response to the conflict.

Before this event, the White House assembled a team of national security officials to imagine the scenarios to be put in place to react to a possible release of chemical weapons, biological or nuclear weapons by Russian President Vladimir Putin, reports The New York Times. The latter could intervene out of frustration at his “weak progress” in the war, or to warn the United States and its allies about a desire to interfere in the conflict.

The Tiger Team establishes diplomatic and military scenarios28

The group developed by Joe Biden is called the “Tiger Team”, already defined as a specialized “tiger team” to solve a specific problem. In the case that interests us, its mission is to establish diplomatic and military scenarios if Russia were to use chemical or nuclear weapons against Ukraine, or to attack NATO territory. It must also determine from what degree of violence it will be necessary to use military force in Ukraine, in addition to defensive aid. The decision would then fall to NATO, and not to the American president alone.

The specialized team was formed on 28 February (i.e. four days after the Russian invasion) and meets three times a week. She would have already indicated the first sanctions pronounced by the United States against Moscow. Also, a possible expulsion of Russia from the G20 was discussed before Joe Biden left for the summit of the NATO in Brussels.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Wednesday that “Allies will agree to provide additional support, including cybersecurity assistance and equipment to help Ukraine protect against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats,” according to the New York Times. Stoltenberg believes, however, that an escalation in weapons (such as the use of nuclear weapons) could have “disastrous consequences” for surrounding NATO territories. Biden also said he wanted to avoid direct confrontation as much as possible because he fears it could lead to an uncontrollable escalation of conflict and “World War III.” )

Russian attack: four possible options28

According to Senator Angus King of Maine (an independent and member of the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committees ), Putin could either try to reach a diplomatic agreement, or intensify his bombardments on Ukrainian cities and level them, or even attack the West with a cyberattack. “The fourth option is escalation to de-escalation, i.e. the use of a tactical nuclear weapon”, he declared, which would imply that Russia uses a nuclear weapon as a warning, before the negotiation.

Even if the threat of a nuclear attack from Russia is still low, this possibility cannot be ruled out. The fact that Russia regularly reminds that it has its arsenal at hand and that it could use it in response to what it perceives as an “existential threat” has challenged Washington. Another task force is working on Russia’s place in the world once a peace agreement has been signed and Ukraine begins its reconstruction.