That was the question that was broached by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan at a briefing yesterday previewing President Biden’s trip to NATO headquarters. Ostensibly, this issue was brought up by the warning President Putin gave that its nuclear forces were being put on alert with the increased military build-up on Russia’s borders in Eastern Europe. A reporter asked Sullivan whether, given Putin’s statements, the Administration had “concerns about the use of nuclear weapons, including possibly smaller nuclear weapons?”
Sullivan replied: “Well, President Putin, in the early days of the conflict, actually raised the specter of the potential use of nuclear weapons. It is something that we do have to be concerned about. Based on our current analysis, we have not changed our nuclear posture to date. But we are constantly monitoring for that potential contingency. And of course, we take it as seriously as one could possibly take it.
“We will be consulting with Allies and partners on that potential contingency, among a range of others, and discussing what our potential responses are….” (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2022/03/22/press-briefing-by-deputy-press-secretary-chris-meagher-and-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivan-march-22-2022/)
