在俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京表示他将离开后，美国官员和立法者本周末做出了谨慎和担忧的混合反应战术核武器邻国白俄罗斯提供了一个重要的集结地因为入侵乌克兰。
乌克兰政府谴责这样的举动作为挑衅，并要求召开联合国安理会会议。
普京周六在俄罗斯电视台发表讲话时坚称，这一决定是与白俄罗斯达成的，原因是英国向乌克兰提供贫铀弹，尽管英国官员呼吁这种弹药“是一个标准部件...与核武器无关。”
与其他种类的核武器相比，普京运入白俄罗斯的武器威力更小，射程更短;他说，他们所需的存储设备将在7月份准备就绪。
普京在电视上说:“我们正在做他们几十年来一直在做的事情，让他们驻扎在某些盟国，准备发射平台并训练他们的船员。”
美国国家安全委员会发言人阿德里安娜·沃森(Adrienne Watson)周六晚些时候表示，美国没有看到俄罗斯即将使用核武器的任何迹象，也不会改变自己的姿态。
沃森说:“我们已经看到了俄罗斯声明的报道，并将继续监测其影响。我们仍然致力于北约联盟的集体防御。”
美国国务院做出了类似的回应，一名发言人在一份声明中表示，“俄罗斯和白俄罗斯已经讨论了一段时间。”
“这可能是白俄罗斯自由日的政治信号，这一天是由反对卢卡申科政权的民主反对派庆祝的，”这位发言人说，他指的是白俄罗斯的独裁总统亚历山大·卢卡申科。
白宫发言人约翰·柯比周日表示，“我们没有看到任何迹象表明他(普京)兑现了这一承诺或转移了任何核武器。”
“事实上，我们没有看到任何迹象表明他有任何意图在乌克兰境内使用核武器，”柯比说在哥伦比亚广播公司的“面向全国”节目中说道“显然，我们会同意不应该打核战争，没有核战争可以获胜，显然这将跨越一个重要的门槛。”
2023年3月25日，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京出席克里姆林宫会议。
Gavriil格里戈罗夫/SPUTNIK/法新社通过盖蒂图片，文件
出现在美国广播公司周日的“本周”节目中众议员迈克·加拉格尔说，普京的言论相当于故作姿态，但仍然令人不安。
“自这场危机开始以来，普京一直在进行核武力威胁。“这是值得关注的事情，但我们不应该让他的威胁吓倒我们，”威斯康辛州共和党人加拉格尔说，“我们不能让这成为推迟向乌克兰人交付关键武器系统的理由。”
这使用核武器的风险自2022年2月俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以来，重新出现在世界舞台上。
美国总统乔·拜登在10月份的一次资金筹集会上说普京“在谈到使用战术核武器或生物或化学武器时不是在开玩笑”，以及“自肯尼迪和20世纪60年代的古巴导弹危机以来，我们从未面临过世界末日的前景”。
柯比随后在《本周》上说10月，拜登反映了冲突的高度“利害关系”，而不是眼前的危险。
“我们正在尽最大努力监控此事，坦白地说，自从他今年2月入侵乌克兰以来，我们一直在监控他的核能力，”柯比当时表示。
普京上个月宣布，俄罗斯将暂停参与新的《削减战略武器条约》(START treaty)，该条约于2010年首次签署，并于2021年延期，该条约对俄罗斯和美国部署的核武器数量以及对核设施的检查实施了上限。
他责备道北约对乌克兰的支持。
不久后，拜登告诉美国广播公司新闻主播大卫·穆尔普京犯了一个“大错”。
“不太负责。但我并不认为他在考虑使用核武器或类似的东西，”拜登说。
Putin says he'll move nukes to Belarus, prompting Ukrainian alarm; US says no sign of imminent risk
U.S. officials and lawmakers reacted with a mix of caution and concern this weekend in the wake of comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would be movingtactical nuclear weaponsinto neighboring Belarus, which provided a crucial staging groundfor the invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine's governmentdenounced such a moveas a provocation and called for a U.N. Security Council meeting.
Speaking on Russian TV on Saturday, Putin insisted that the reason for the decision, reached with the agreement of Belarus, was the U.K. supplying depleted uranium shells to Ukraine,though British officials have calledsuch munitions "a standard component and ... nothing to do with nuclear weapons."
The weapons Putin would move into Belarus would be less powerful and with a shorter range than other kinds of nuclear weapons; he said the storage necessary for them would be ready by July.
"We are doing what they have been doing for decades, stationing them in certain allied countries, preparing the launch platforms and training their crew," Putin said on TV.
U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said later Saturday that the U.S. hasn't seen any indications Russia is going to imminently use a nuclear weapon and will not be changing its own posture.
"We have seen reports of Russia's announcement and will continue to monitor the implications," Watson said, adding, "We remain committed to the collective defense of the NATO alliance."
The State Department responded similarly, with a spokesperson saying in a statement that "Russia and Belarus have talked about doing this for some time."
"This could be political signaling on Belarus Freedom Day, which is celebrated by the democratic opposition to the Lukashenka regime," the spokesperson said, referring to Belarus' authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said Sunday that "we have not seen any indication he's [Putin] made good on this pledge or moved any nuclear weapons around."
"We've, in fact, seen no indication he has any intention to use nuclear weapons -- period -- inside Ukraine," Kirbysaid on CBS' "Face the Nation.""Obviously, we would agree that no nuclear war should be fought, no nuclear war could be won and clearly that would cross a major threshold."
Appearingon ABC's "This Week" on Sunday, Rep. Mike Gallagher said Putin's remarks amounted to posturing but were troubling nonetheless.
"Putin has engaged in nuclear saber-rattling since the start of this crisis. It is something to be concerned about, but we should not allow his threat to deter us," said Gallagher, R-Wis. "We can't allow that to be a cause for delaying critical weapon systems that we need to deliver to the Ukrainians."
Therisk of nuclear weapons being usedhas reemerged on the world stage since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
U.S. President Joe Bidensaid at a fundraiser in Octoberthat Putin was "not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons" and that "we have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis" in the 1960s.
Kirbysubsequently said on "This Week"in October that Biden was reflecting the very high "stakes" of the conflict rather than immediate danger.
"We are monitoring this as best we can, and we have been monitoring his nuclear capabilities, frankly, since he invaded Ukraine back in February," Kirby said then.
Putin declared last month that Russia was suspending its participation in the New START treaty, first signed in 2010 and extended in 2021, which implements caps on the number of nuclear weapons deployed by Russia and the U.S. and inspections of nuclear sites.
He blamedNATO support for Ukraine.
Soon after, Bidentold ABC News anchor David Muirthat Putin had made a "big mistake."
"Not very responsible. But I don't read into that that he's thinking of using nuclear weapons or anything like that," Biden said.
