Russia Responds After US Warns Of Possible Use Of Tactical Nuclear Weapon In Ukraine: 'Absurd…Cheap Rhetoric'

The Russian envoy to the U.S. responded on Thursday after U.S. senators warned about Moscow’s possible use of tactical nuclear weapons. 

What Happened: Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov called the bipartisan draft resolution "absurd" and “cheap.”

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Antonov said Russia has been and remains a responsible nuclear power. “The speculations about Russia’s possible use of TNWs are absurd. By using such cheap rhetoric, the local elite demonstrates its absolute incompetence in strategic matters. The provocative and short-sighted remarks of the U.S. lawmakers only serve to escalate tensions and increase the risk of the situation sliding to an even more dangerous point,” he told Newsweek, according to the Russian embassy.

The diplomat argued that Russia is deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus on legal grounds and is not a violation of any international obligations.

The draft resolution as a kind of response to the "threat" allegedly posed by Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus “is yet another manifestation of blind hatred for our country."

See Also: Russia Expanding Nuclear Arsenal As Ukraine Losses Turn Heavy, Says US Intelligence

This came after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Thursday announced that a resolution had been prepared, saying that “the use of any tactical nuclear weapon by the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, or their proxies, or the destruction of a nuclear facility, dispersing radioactive contaminates into NATO territory causing significant harm to human life as an attack on NATO requiring an immediate response, including the implementation of Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty.”

The non-binding resolution was drafted by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

Earlier this week, Biden expressed his concerns about the real threat of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

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