At the end of 2022, the United States began "careful preparations" for a possible Russian nuclear strike on the territory of Ukraine.
Source. This was reported by CNN with reference to two senior US officials. The leaders of China and India, who have strongly opposed such a prospect, have made a major contribution to the fact that the risk of nuclear weapons use has been significantly reduced.
One source told CNN that the White House's concerns were not just a hypothetical scenario, but were backed up by "some information we've received."
According to CNN's sources, a potential trigger for Russia's decision to launch a nuclear strike on Ukraine could be, for example, if Russian troops were surrounded.
nother scenario is the emergence of an existential threat to Russia, namely the loss of the territories occupied by the Russian army.
The officials told the TV channel that the United States was concerned about reports from the Russian Ministry of Defence that Ukraine was preparing a so-called "dirty bomb" in the autumn of 2022. According to the CNN source, Moscow could have used statements in this vein "either as an excuse to do something crazy or as a cover for something they wanted to do themselves."
Western intelligence services have also received information about discussions among Russian officials about the use of nuclear weapons, according to one of CNN's interlocutors.
At the same time, he admitted that Washington has never recorded any signs that Russia is taking any steps towards the use of nuclear weapons. However, according to him, it would be very difficult for the United States to track the transfer of tactical nuclear weapons.
Background. The media also wrote that Russia was preparing for a Chinese invasion and had practised the use of nuclear weapons in this regard.