US to respond if Russia uses nukes: Ex-CIA chief

Retired US Army General David Petraeus has predicted that Washington would lead a devastating response to any Russian nuclear attack in Ukraine, wiping out all of Moscow’s forces and military bases in the region.

According to Russia Today, Petraeus, who briefly served as the CIA director after his counterinsurgency strategy failed in Afghanistan, made the comments in an interview with ABC News on Sunday.

“We would respond by leading a NATO, a collective effort, that would take out every Russian conventional force that we can see and identify on the battlefield in Ukraine and also in Crimea and every ship in the Black Sea,”  he said.

The retired general did not offer any specifics on how NATO forces would make easy work of the Russian military and admitted he was speaking hypothetically and was not aware of the Biden Administration's plans. Petraeus added that Washington should avoid a “nuclear-for-nuclear” exchange, “but you have to show that this cannot be accepted in any way.”

In such a scenario, the US would be going to war directly with the world’s largest nuclear power, as President Vladimir Putin warned last month that Moscow would use all available means to protect Russia and its people if the country’s territorial integrity is in danger. The White House interpreted it as a threat to use nukes against Ukraine, and responded by threatening “catastrophic consequences.”

MNA/PR