U.S. prepares contingencies in case Russia uses nuclear, biological weapons

The Biden administration announced on Thursday that it has assembled a team of experts to plan how the United States could respond if the Kremlin resorted to using weapons of mass destruction during its invasion of its southern neighbor.  

According to a Reuters report, the White House National Security Council sent an internal memo to security agencies on Feb. 28 to create a strategy group to examine the geopolitical implications of the war in Eastern Europe and a second group, known as the “Tiger Team,” is presently determining what the next few months could look like.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin first launched his “special military operation” on Feb. 24, frustrated officials in Moscow have repeatedly raised the prospect of using nuclear weapons in response to perceived threats of Western intervention.

When asked if Russia would still consider the use of nuclear weapons, Russian Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that only an “existential” threat would be enough to justify the use of such a weapon.

"Well, we have a concept of domestic security, and it's public," Peskov said. "You can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used. So if it is an existential threat, a threat for our country, then it can be used in accordance with our concept."

But U.S. officials have also pointed to past Russian military interventions to warn that Moscow could also resort to using chemical weapons in Ukraine.

One official said teams of experts are currently preparing contingency plans for various scenarios, which include Russia’s potential use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, the targeting of U.S. security convoys or disruptions to global food supply chains. Although the official would not speculate on how Washington might respond to a Russian nuclear attack, he said a contingency was in place.   

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby also told reporters that the U.S. was ready to respond to any aggression from Moscow.

"We haven't seen any indication that the Russians are prepared to use weapons of mass destruction inside Ukraine. If that were to happen there would be a significant response," from both the United States and the international community, he said.

As Western leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that there are concerns that Russia may create a pretext for an escalation by accusing Ukraine and its allies of using chemical weapons against Russian forces or Russian speaking people in Ukraine.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Wednesday that Biden would discuss the Russia’s potential use of weapons of mass destruction when meeting with NATO allies in Brussels on Thursday.

"We've tried to be very clear about the gravity of the use of any such chemical weapons. These are agents that should never be employed, and certainly not on the battlefield, as we are concerned Russia might," he said.