Blinken: Putin's Nuclear Threat the 'Height of Irresponsibility'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin putting nuclear forces on "special combat readiness" over the weekend was the "height of irresponsibility."

The decision by Putin to raise the country's nuclear threat level follows a string of inflammatory rhetoric by the Russian president regarding the viability of nuclear weapons.

Just this week, nuclear submarines and mobile missile launchers staged drills following Putin's weekend order, The Hill reported.

"It's dangerous. It adds to the risk of miscalculation. It needs to be avoided," Blinken said during a press briefing at the State Department. He added that the U.S. sees "no reason" to change its nuclear threat level after assessing Putin's directive and statements.

Blinken also announced that the U.S. would impose export controls on Belarus for assisting Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

The state secretary emphasized existing sanctions on Russian banks, businesses, and oligarchs connected to the state.

"Russia's credit rating has been cut to junk status. The value of President Putin's war fund has vanished," Blinken claimed.

The comments from the secretary followed a statement earlier in the day by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who warned that a hypothetical third world war would involve nuclear weapons, according to Reuters.

Lavrov also said that Russia would face a "real danger" if Ukraine were to acquire nuclear weapons, seemingly threatening the U.S. not to respond to a recent decision from Kremlin ally Belarus to forego nuclear neutrality status.

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