The United States is seeing evidence that Russia is “suffering” in its invasion of Ukraine and has warned Moscow that there would be “disastrous consequences” if it uses a nuclear weapon in its war against Kiev, an adviser to the United States said on Sunday.
Jake Sullivan pointed to protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mobilization of 300,000 reservists, as well as what Sullivan called “fake” annexation referendums in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine.
“These are definitely not signs of power or confidence. Quite the opposite: They are signs that Russia and Putin are suffering badly,” Sullivan said, noting that Putin’s autocratic hold on the country made it difficult to get definitive assessments from the outside.
“It will be the Russian people, ultimately, who will decide how Russia will proceed and the degree to which there will be resistance to what Vladimir Putin has tried to do by calling these hundreds of thousands of young people”, added Sullivan.
“At the end of the day, the future of Russian politics will be dictated, not by Washington, not by anyone in Europe, but by the people inside Russia,” Sullivan replied. “And what you see on the streets now is a deep dissatisfaction with what Putin is doing.”
His comments come as Putin escalates his rhetoric after Russian forces have been forced to cede large swathes of northeastern Ukraine as they retreat from a Ukrainian counteroffensive this month.
Last week, Putin called in the reservists and suggested that tactical nuclear weapons could be used to turn the tide of the war, baselessly accusing the West of threatening Russia’s territorial integrity.
Sullivan declined to explain exactly what warnings were communicated between Russia and the US, but he said there would be serious consequences if such a weapon were used.
“We have communicated directly, privately, with the Russians at very high levels that there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia if they use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. We have been clear with them and firm with them that the United States will respond decisively together with allies and partners,” Sullivan said.