Navy Admiral Charles A. Richard, who is the United States Strategic Command chief confirmed that the Pentagon is taking the Russian nuclear threat seriously. He said that for the first time since the Cold War, nuclear war is possible.

He began by acknowledging that “All of us in this room are back in the business of contemplating competition through crisis and possible direct armed conflict with a nuclear-capable peer.” Richard made the comments while speaking at a national security panel event titled: “America Under Attack—Defending the Homeland” held in Maryland. He also responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks in which Putin claimed Russia would use “all defense methods” if its territorial integrity is threatened.

Russian Nukes Can Be Used To Defend Annexed Ukraine Regions, Kremlin Warns

Putin had said in his early Wednesday address that “If Russia feels its territorial integrity is threatened, we will use all defense methods at our disposal, and this is not a bluff,” while also decrying what he called the West’s “nuclear blackmail”.

Richard said the U.S. has not had to consider nuclear war a possibility since the Cold War. “We have not had to do that in over 30 years. The implications of that are profound,” he emphasized. Speaking of both Russia and China as major nuclear-armed powers and rivals of the U.S., he continued, “We just haven’t faced competitors and opponents like that in a long time,” asserting that “Russia and China can escalate to any level of violence that they choose in any domain with any instrument of power worldwide.”

He spoke of increasing threats from both Russia and China and discussed the U.S.’s nuclear posture review: “We need to execute this very good strategy as the threat from China continues to increase. We don’t know where that’s going to end, as the threat from Russia continues to increase, along with the other challenges that we face.”

Russian national security official, Dmitry Medvedev, followed up Putin’s warning by doubling down on the nuclear threat. “The Donbas [Donetsk and Luhansk] republics and other territories will be accepted into Russia,” he posted to Telegram. That’s when the former president and deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council stated:

Russia has announced that not only mobilization capabilities, but also any Russian weapons, including strategic nuclear weapons and weapons based on new principles, could be used for such protection. –Reuters

Medvedev also warned the West of the far-reaching hypersonic weapons in Russia’s arsenal, saying: “Various retired idiots wearing a general’s insignia should know better than to try to scare us with speculations about a NATO strike at Crimea. Hypersonic retaliation is to be able to reach targets in Europe and the United States much faster, it’s guaranteed.”

But don’t worry. Joe Biden has a plan:

'You Think I Would Tell You?' Biden Scoffs When 60 Minutes' Pelley Asks What US Response to a Putin Nuke Would Be https://t.co/vvycJAFjFi

— Mediaite (@Mediaite) September 17, 2022