THE United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sees no indications that Russia is preparing to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war, said CIA director Bill Burns yesterday.

“We do not see, as an intelligence community, practical evidence at this point of Russian planning for the deployment or even potential use of tactical nuclear weapons,” he told a conference hosted by the Financial Times

“Given the kind of sabre-rattling that… we have heard from the Russian leadership, we cannot take lightly those possibilities.

“So we stay very sharply focused as an intelligence service… on those possibilities at a moment when the stakes are very high for Russia.”

Russia placed nuclear forces on high alert shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24. Putin has also made thinly veiled threats hinting at willingness to deploy tactical nuclear weapons.

The Kremlin chief warned of “lightning fast” retaliation if the West directly intervenes in the Ukraine conflict.

Observers said in recent days, Russia’s state television has attempted to make nuclear weapons use more palatable to the public. – AFP, May 8, 2022.