After media reports citing Pentagon officials claimed that the United States provided intel support to Ukraine that resulted in the assassination of top Russian military officials, the Biden administration sought to downplay their role in the conflict. The White House distanced themselves from the high-profile sinking of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva, one of the greatest embarrassments for Russia since it attacked Ukraine.
The White House and Pentagon described a limited role in last month's attack and said the Ukrainians make their own decisions. The effort reflected the fine line US President Joe Biden walks as he touts increasing support for Ukraine while fighting off criticism he isn't doing enough and simultaneously trying to avoid dragging the US into a direct conflict with Russia.
"We had no prior knowledge of Ukraine's intent to target the ship," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. "The Ukrainians have their own intelligence capabilities to track and target Russian naval vessels, as they did in this case."
Russia has no intention of deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, a Kremlin spokesman said on Friday, a day after Moscow's top diplomat in the US chided Western officials for targeting it with baseless accusations. Russia firmly abides by the principle that there can be no victors in a nuclear war and it must not be unleashed, Alexey Zaitsev said. He added that Russian nuclear doctrine does not envisage any scenarios for potential strikes which would apply to Moscow's military goals in Ukraine.
Nevertheless, Zaitsev added that any provocations whatsoever can be expected from Ukraine and the West, and that Russia has to be ready for any development in the media space and directly on the ground. His statement echoed remarks made by Russia's ambassador in Washington on Thursday. In an interview with Newsweek, Anatoly Antonov slammed what he called a flurry of blatant misrepresentation of Russian officials' statements on our country's nuclear policy.
