President Biden Says US Is Ready To Respond If Russia Uses Chemical, Biological Or Nuclear Weapons In Ukraine

JAKARTA - The White House has formed a team of experts to plan how the United States might respond, if Russia uses weapons of mass destruction, chemical, biological or nuclear, during its invasion of Ukraine, a senior administration official said on Thursday.

Russia has repeatedly raised the prospect of using nuclear weapons, as it struggles to cope with Ukraine's military during a month-long war that the Russian government calls special operations.

However, this week Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such weapons would only be used in cases of an existential threat to Russia.

US officials have been warned that Russia's accusations that Ukraine may use chemical weapons are lies, as well as indications that Moscow will use them, given previous precedents.

President Joe Biden said Thursday that if Russia used chemical weapons in its invasion of Ukraine, the United States would respond.

"We will respond, we will respond if he uses it. The nature of the response will depend on the nature of the use," Biden told a news conference in Brussels.

Separately, the White House National Security Council sent an internal memo to the agencies on February 28, setting up a strategy group to examine the major geopolitical shifts that occurred as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, officials said.

Meanwhile, the second group, known internally as the "Tiger Team", is looking at what the next three months will look like.

The strategy group is working "to monitor and mitigate risk, while considering how to advance and defend US interests," a US official said.

The team is developing contingency plans for various scenarios including the potential use of Russian chemical or biological weapons; targeting US security convoys; disruption to global food supply chains; and continued responses to the growing refugee crisis, the official said.

The team is also looking into the possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia, the official said.

The official would not speculate on how the United States would respond if Russia used weapons of mass destruction. But have explained, there will be a response.

Separately, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told CNN it was the United States' obligation to think about the possibilities.

"We don't see any indication that Russia is ready to use weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine. If that happens, there will be a significant response," both the United States and the international community, Kirby said.

Earlier, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday, President Joe Biden in Brussels for urgent talks with NATO and European leaders, would discuss Russia's possible use of nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters the next day, President Biden would also discuss chemical and biological weapons with allies.

"We have tried to be very clear about the gravity of the use of such chemical weapons. This is an agent that should not be used, and certainly not on the battlefield because we fear Russia might do so," he said.