Military setbacks and “potential desperation” could prompt Russian President Vladimir Putin to use “tactical” or “low-yield” nuclear weapons against Ukraine, CIA Director William Burns warned during a speech at Georgia Tech on Thursday.
Why it matters: So-called “tactical” nuclear weapons are considered “low-yield” only because other nuclear weapons have become unimaginably powerful. Any nuclear strike against Ukraine would be far more powerful and devastating than any conventional attack.
- Burns stressed that the intelligence community has seen no “practical evidence” that would suggest such a nuclear attack against Ukraine was imminent but it was not ignoring the threat.
What they’re saying: Given “the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they’ve faced so far militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons,” Burns said.
- While “we’ve seen some rhetorical posturing on the part of the Kremlin, about moving to higher nuclear alert levels, so far we haven’t seen a lot of practical evidence of the kind of deployments or military dispositions that would reinforce that concern,” he added.
- “We watch for that very intently. It’s one of our most important responsibilities at CIA.”
How it works: Russia has in its nuclear arsenal thousands of smaller warheads, and multiple different systems that can deliver those warheads in shorter and intermediate ranges.
- The explosive power of “low-yield” nuclear bombs can range from 50 kilotons (equivalent to 1,000 tons of TNT) to 20, 10 or .1 kilotons.
- “Little Boy,” the nuclear weapon the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and the first weapon of its kind used in combat, had a yield of 15 kilotons and killed an estimated 66,000 people and injured 69,000 more.
- Tactical nuclear weapons have never been governed by a formal nuclear arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia.
The big picture: Shortly after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Putin placed the country’s nuclear deterrent forces on alert.
- Kremlin officials have repeatedly warned that Russia would use nuclear weapons if there’s a “threat for existence” to the country.
- Burns said that Russian military doctrine allows for the use of such weapons in order to de-escalate a conventional military threat.
Go deeper: Russia threatens to deploy nukes to Baltic if Sweden and Finland join NATO
Military setbacks and “potential desperation” could prompt Russian President Vladimir Putin to use “tactical” or “low-yield” nuclear weapons against Ukraine, CIA Director William Burns warned during a speech at Georgia Tech on Thursday.Why it matters: So-called “tactical” nuclear weapons are considered “low-yield” only because other nuclear weapons have become unimaginably powerful. Any nuclear strike against Ukraine would be far more powerful and devastating than any conventional attack.Burns stressed that the intelligence community has seen no “practical evidence” that would suggest such a nuclear attack against Ukraine was imminent but it was not ignoring the threat.What they’re saying: Given “the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they’ve faced so far militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons,” Burns said.While “we’ve seen some rhetorical posturing on the part of the Kremlin, about moving to higher nuclear alert levels, so far we haven’t seen a lot of practical evidence of the kind of deployments or military dispositions that would reinforce that concern,” he added.”We watch for that very intently. It’s one of our most important responsibilities at CIA.”How it works: Russia has in its nuclear arsenal thousands of smaller warheads, and multiple different systems that can deliver those warheads in shorter and intermediate ranges.The explosive power of “low-yield” nuclear bombs can range from 50 kilotons (equivalent to 1,000 tons of TNT) to 20, 10 or .1 kilotons.”Little Boy,” the nuclear weapon the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and the first weapon of its kind used in combat, had a yield of 15 kilotons and killed an estimated 66,000 people and injured 69,000 more.Tactical nuclear weapons have never been governed by a formal nuclear arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia.The big picture: Shortly after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Putin placed the country’s nuclear deterrent forces on alert.Kremlin officials have repeatedly warned that Russia would use nuclear weapons if there’s a “threat for existence” to the country.Burns said that Russian military doctrine allows for the use of such weapons in order to de-escalate a conventional military threat.Go deeper: Russia threatens to deploy nukes to Baltic if Sweden and Finland join NATO