US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that Russia would be making a “serious mistake” by launching a “false flag” nuclear attack on Ukraine.
US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that Russia would be making a “serious mistake” by launching a “false flag” nuclear attack on Ukraine, saying it was unclear whether such an operation was already underway.
The Kremlin said on Monday that Ukraine planned to use a radioactive “dirty bomb” against Russian forces, as well as blaming Russia for the use of weapons of mass destruction.
As Biden's handlers try to usher press out after Joe Biden gets his COVID vaccine, one reporter asks about Russia preparing to deploy a nuclear weapon.
Biden: "Let me just say, Russia will be making an incredibly serious mistake to use a tactical nuclear weapon…" pic.twitter.com/bLOGynmcAu
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) October 25, 2022
“On Russia’s dirty bomb accusations related to Ukraine: Do you think this is the beginning of a false flag operation?” a reporter asked President Biden, as the president received a Covid-19 booster.
“Is Russia preparing to deploy a dirty bomb or a nuclear weapon?” the journalist asked, to which Joe Biden replied: “I spent a lot of time talking about it today.”
“Let me just say: Russia would be making a serious and unbelievable mistake if it used a tactical nuclear weapon,” Biden said. “I still do not guarantee that it is a false flag operation. I don’t know, but it would be a serious mistake, a very serious mistake.”
The US, UK and French governments responded to the Russian claim with a joint statement saying “the world would see through any attempt to use this claim as a pretext for escalation.”
At a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday, Gen. Patrick Ryder said: “From the US point of view, the accusations that Ukraine is building a dirty bomb are false.”
“However, we have not seen at this time any indication that Russia has made a decision or intends to employ nuclear weapons or a dirty bomb [either],” Ryder added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law earlier this month to annex four partially occupied Ukrainian provinces, despite battlefield setbacks amid a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24 after Joe Biden warned for weeks about a possible false flag justification for the conflict. Putin previously annexed Crimea in 2014 and backed pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.