Before setting off for the UK for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, US President Joe Biden on Saturday urged Russian President Vladimir Putin not to use tactical nuclear or chemical weapons after setbacks in Ukraine.
Ukraine's military drove back Russian forces in a lightning rout in the north-east of the country this week, putting Mr Putin under pressure from nationalists at home to regain the initiative.
Mr Putin has issued a warning that Moscow would respond more forcefully if its troops were put under further pressure, raising concerns that he could resort to unconventional means, such as small nuclear or chemical weapons.
Asked by US broadcaster CBS what he would say to Mr Putin if he were considering using such weapons, Mr Biden said: “Don't. Don't. Don't. It would change the face of war unlike anything since the Second World War.”
Mr Biden said the US response would be “consequential” but declined to give detail. The Russians “would become more of a pariah in the world than they ever have been”, he said. “Depending on the extent of what they do will determine what response would occur.”
Russian government officials have dismissed western suggestions that Moscow would use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but it remains a worry for some in the West.
In a speech announcing the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Mr Putin gave a veiled but unmistakable warning that if the West intervened in what he has called a “special military operation” he could use nuclear weapons in response.
“No matter who tries to stand in our way or … create threats for our country and our people, they must know that Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history,” he said, according to a Kremlin translation.
Other choices for the Russian leader could involve mobilising Russia's reserves, numbering around two million men, and pressuring Europe to strong-arm Ukraine into a truce with Russia, by freezing the region this winter by banning all energy exports.
The queen in the US - in pictures
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Reagan laughs following a joke by Queen Elizabeth, who commented on the lousy California weather she has experienced since her arrival in the US. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth made lighthearted jokes about the rainy weather while visiting California. US Photo: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library -
Queen Elizabeth inspects a filly foal during a visit to Lane's End Farms in Versailles, Kentucky, on May 24, 1986. AP -
Bill Clinton, the US president at the time, and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II smile for the cameras before a celebratory banquet for the 50th anniversary of D-Day on June 3, 1994. AFP -
The queen and then-president Gerald Ford dance during a state dinner in Washington on July 17, 1976. AFP -
Queen Elizabeth visits Yosemite National Park in California in 1980. AP -
Princess Elizabeth poses with Harry Truman, the US president at the time, in October 1951 at the White House. AFP -
Ronald Reagan, the US president at the time, and first lady Nancy Reagan pose for photographers with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at a state dinner on March 3, 1983, in San Francisco, California. AP -
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip join Nancy Reagan during a red carpet celebrity-filled event at 20th Century Fox studios on February 27, 1983, in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth greets schoolchildren at the state capitol building in Richmond, Virginia, May 3, 2007. AFP -
The queen meets singer Frank Sinatra as well as Perry Como, Dionne Warwick and George Burns in Long Beach, California, on February 27, 1983. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth smiles as she is shown a pair of boots in Austin, Texas, on May 20, 1991. AFP -
The queen and Prince Philip visit Jamestown, Virginia, in 2007. PA -
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip view the Apollo 14 module and space shuttle model in Downey, California, on February 28, 1983. Getty Images -
The queen and Prince Philip meet British Nasa astronaut Mike Foale in Houston, Texas, on May 20, 1991. AFP -
George Bush, the US president at the time, and the queen wave to the crowd before the start of the Orioles v Oakland Athletics baseball game in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 15, 1991. AFP -
Bush and his wife, Barbara Bush, arrive at a dinner at the British embassy accompanied by the queen and Prince Philip on May 16, 1991. AFP -
The queen addresses the US House of Representatives on May 16, 1991. AFP -
Queen Elizabeth on a visit to then-president Ronald Regan in 1983. US Photo: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library -
Queen Elizabeth wrote a heartfelt letter after her California visit. US Photo: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library -
Former Virginia first lady Anne Holton with then-governor Tim Kaine hosted the queen and Prince Philip at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia. Visions of America / Universal Images Group / Getty Images -
The queen attends the 133rd Kentucky Derby in 2007 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Getty Images / AFP -
Prince Philip and the queen enjoying the 133rd running if the Kentucky Derby. Getty Images / AFP
