The United States does not see an increased threat from Russia's forces of nuclear weapons, according to a senior U.S. defense official.
The senior defense official spoke on Thursday and said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is in the "initial phases of a large scale invasion," but does not believe nuclear weapons will get involved.
"We don't see an increased threat in that regard," the senior U.S. defense official said.
Although, Russian President Vladimir Putin created a conspiracy theory on Monday that Ukraine and the United States are trying to get nuclear weapons back into Ukraine.
Ukraine gave up a large arsenal of nuclear weapons left on its territory after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and currently does not have the infrastructure to produce nuclear fuel.
"Ukraine intends to create its own nuclear weapons, and this is not just bragging," Putin said.
American officials have continued to say there are no plans to place nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but Putin went on to continue his conspiracy theory.
"If Ukraine acquires weapons of mass destruction, the situation in the world and in Europe will drastically change, especially for us, for Russia," he said. "We cannot but react to this real danger, all the more so since, let me repeat, Ukraine’s Western patrons may help it acquire these weapons to create yet another threat to our country."
President Joe Biden addressed the United States on Thursday after the invasion and called Putin's attack on Ukraine "unprovoked and unjustified."
President Biden has reportedly been given several options for the United States to carry out massive cyberattacks that would affect Russia's military operations, according to NBC News. The president also said that he is sending more U.S. forces to Germany to add to NATO forces.
"I know that this is hard, and Americans are already hurting. I will do everything in my power to limit the pain Americans are feeling at the gas pump," Biden said. "This is critical to me. But this aggression can not go unanswered. If it did, the consequences for America would be much worse. We stand up for freedom."
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