Since the start of the Ukraine war, Putin has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons. According to experts, these would most likely be attacks with tactical nuclear weapons. Their explosive power is less than that of strategic nuclear weapons. However, Biden warned that a tactical nuclear attack still carries the risk of a wildfire.
Putin “does not joke” when he threatens to use tactical nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, “because his army is, you might say, quite underperforming,” Biden said. The word “Armageddon” used by the US President in this context is a biblical designation for the last decisive battle at the end of the world.
Supporters of Putin such as Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and representatives of the Ukrainian regions declared annexed by Moscow congratulated the president on Friday on his 70th birthday. “God placed you in power to carry out a mission of special importance and great responsibility for the fate of the country and its people,” Kirill proclaimed.
“Putin changed Russia’s position in the world and turned it into a nation to be reckoned with,” Kadyrov said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov called on Russian soldiers fighting in his country to surrender and in return promised them protection. Ukraine guarantees “life, security and justice for all those who immediately refuse to fight,” Reznikov said in a video in Russian. “You can still save Russia from tragedy and the Russian army from humiliation.”
Recently, the Ukrainian armed forces had been able to recapture considerable areas from Russia. “Since October 1, more than 500 square kilometers of land and dozens of towns have been liberated in the Kherson region alone,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
After losing several thousand square kilometers on various fronts in recent weeks, the pro-Russian separatists reported the capture of three villages in eastern Ukraine. Otradivka, Vessela Dolyna and Saitseve lie south of the Ukrainian-held town of Bakhmut, which the Russian army has been trying to capture for months without success.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin accused Kyiv of “calling for the start of a new world war with outrageous and unpredictable consequences.” According to the Russian news agency Ria Novosti, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was referring to statements made by Zelenskyy, who in an interview had brought up “preventive strikes” by NATO against Russia.
However, a spokesman for the Ukrainian President emphasized on the online network Facebook that Zelenskyy’s statements referred to preventive sanctions and not to preventive attacks. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said such statements justified the Russian invasion.
At least five civilians were killed in a Ukrainian airstrike on a bus in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, according to pro-Russian officials. The deputy head of the occupation administration of the Kherson region, Kirill Stremusov, said in the messenger service Telegram that the Ukrainian armed forces had “fired on a bus with civilians on the Darievsky Bridge” who were on their way to work.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Presidency reported another Russian attack in the Zaporizhia region. Infrastructure had been destroyed in two districts, she explained. “The occupier used drones for the first time.”
