The Wall Street Journal reported that the senior White House official had confidential conversations in recent months with Kremlin aide Yuri Usakov and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, a Sullivan counterpart, that were not made public. Neither Washington nor Moscow have confirmed whether the talks took place, and the report did not detail the time or dates of the calls. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the report in his daily briefing. “Once again I repeat that there are some true reports, but for the most part there are reports that are pure speculation,” he told reporters. In September, Russia began bolstering the idea that it might use nuclear weapons as it laid the groundwork for its illegal annexation of areas of southern and eastern Ukraine, saying Ukrainian attacks against them would be seen as a threat to Russia’s national security, the which would be protected. against the use of all available means. Sullivan warned that month that any use of nuclear weapons by the Kremlin would have “catastrophic consequences for Russia,” which the US had “articulated” in private talks with Russian officials, he told NBC. Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based thinktank, noted last week that Russia had significantly toned down its nuclear rhetoric since early November. Russia’s foreign ministry issued a statement on November 2 on “the unacceptability of a nuclear war in which there can be no winners” and said it is committed to reducing nuclear weapons. Putin went so far as to claim that Russia had never discussed the possibility of using nuclear weapons. Shortly before what the West called fake referendums in parts of Ukraine Russia had said it intended to annex, Putin claimed without evidence that the West had threatened to use nuclear weapons against Russia. “When the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, of course, we will use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people,” Putin said. “This is not a bluff. And those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the weather vane may turn and point in their direction.” More recently, Russia had claimed, without providing evidence, that Kyiv was preparing to use a radioactive dirty bomb. Ukraine said it feared Russia was preparing a false flag nuclear attack that would then be blamed on Kyiv. Throughout the war, the US had the difficult task of supporting Ukraine to defend itself against Russia while maintaining some distance to avoid causing escalation. For this reason, the US and other key Western allies of Ukraine, such as the UK, have ruled out putting boots on the ground or establishing a no-fly zone that could put NATO and Russian forces in direct conflict . US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in late October that it was important to keep the lines of communication open with Russia to “manage escalation”, clarifying that his main concern was Russia’s nuclear rhetoric, but not said if or how often such channels were. is used. “We will continue to communicate that any type of use of a weapon of this nature, or even the discussion of use of a weapon of this nature, is dangerous and irresponsible,” Austin said. Although nuclear tensions appear to have subsided for now, the ISW said Russia may return to the nuclear threshold again to push the West to pressure Ukraine to negotiate. Russia is trying to regain the advantage in Ukraine after a series of retreats in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions. So far, its strategy, it seems, is to disable Ukraine in the rear by cutting off its supplies over the winter while it uses its newly mobilized troops to win and regain ground on the front lines. Ukraine’s Western allies reportedly envision negotiations starting after Ukraine recaptures the Kherson region so that Kyiv starts from a position of strength, Italy’s La Republicca reported Monday. On Saturday, the Washington Post reported that the US was urging Kyiv to be more open to talks amid concerns from allies in parts of Europe, Africa and Latin America about a protracted war with devastating economic consequences. A senior adviser to Ukraine’s president said Monday that Kyiv had never refused to negotiate with Moscow, but reiterated that it would not hold talks while Vladimir Putin was in power. “Ukraine has never refused to negotiate. Our negotiating position is known and open,” Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted, saying Russia must first withdraw its troops from Ukraine. “Is Putin ready? Obviously not. Therefore, we are constructive in our assessment: we will talk to the next leader.” On Monday, Peskov said Russia was open to talks, but it was Ukraine that refused. Both Ukraine and the U.S., its main Western ally, say Russia has yet to show it is serious about negotiations, pointing to Russia’s recent mobilization, rerouting its economy for the war effort, illegal annexation of more Ukrainian territory and the accompanying nuclear rhetoric. Despite its struggle to make progress on the battlefield, Russia has had significant success in striking Ukraine’s energy sector thanks to Iranian-supplied drones that reportedly replenish its rapidly depleting missile and rocket stockpiles . Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko told residents to prepare for longer cuts and make arrangements to leave the city in the event of a total blackout. Acquiring additional air defense systems and munitions has become Kiev’s number one priority in recent weeks. Last week, Germany sent an Iris-T system and on Monday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov welcomed the Nasams and Aspide air defense systems, thanking Norway, Spain and the US. Speaking in his late-night speech on Sunday, Zelensky said Ukraine would be closer to peace “if it were not for the Iranian supply of arms to the aggressor”.
