U.S. Defense Secretary warns against Russia’s nuclear weapon expansion

As its incursion of Ukraine proceeds and Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons in the battle, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin claimed that Russia is “modernizing and expanding its nuclear arsenal,” The Hill reported.

Austin gave a speech on Friday at a ceremony honoring Anthony Cotton, the new leader of the United States Strategic Command (Stratcom). The organization is in charge of nuclear operations, missile defense, and strategic nuclear deterrence. Charles Richard, who had been in the position since 2019, resigned on Friday, and Cotton replaced him.

Austin noted that Stratcom will face a number of difficulties in the near future, such as the Chinese nuclear forces’ expansion, modernization, and diversification as well as the Russian nuclear arsenal’s continued growth.

Putin claimed this week that Russia’s nuclear weapons would only serve as a “component of deterrence” in the conflict with Ukraine, but he has made several threats over the course of the nine-month conflict that have alarmed the U.S. and other authorities across the world.

He previously stated that Russia would be prepared to use nuclear weapons to protect its territory, but he has since underlined that this also applies to the four regions of Ukraine that Russia unlawfully annexed in September after conducting sham referendums in those areas.

Although Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson’s referendums were largely successful, the majority of the international world criticized them as being neither free nor fair.

Putin stated in October that Russia has no intentions of deploying nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but President Biden disputed his statements, pointing out that the Russian president frequently discusses nuclear weapons.

The “ultimate backstop” against assaults on the United States and its allies, according to Austin, is a secure, safe, and effective U.S. nuclear arsenal. Austin claimed that Stratcom’s mission is to prevent violence and maintain peace.

He said that Stratcom is creating tools to avoid confrontation and integrating its capabilities across all realms, including cyberspace and space.

The U.S. Defense Secretary congratulated Cotton in advance for the contributions he will make to the organization and noted that Cotton had had a “tremendous” career.