Politico: US avoids nuclear conflict over Ukraine

The United States has no intention of meeting Kyiv's requests to intercept Russian missiles and drones in Ukrainian airspace, fearing such actions could escalate the conflict and lead to nuclear warfare.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed frustration that the U.S. is involved in countering Iranian attacks on Israel but refuses to use its military to neutralize Russian missiles, Caliber.Az reports citing Politico.

“The tough answer that Ukrainians may not like to hear but is unfortunately true is that we can take the risk of shooting down Iranian missiles over Israel without triggering direct war with Tehran that could lead to nuclear war,” said a senior U.S. Senate aide. “There’s a lot more risk in trying that with Russia.” 

Politico also noted that several representatives from U.S. President Joe Biden's administration echoed this sentiment.

The publication further highlighted that Washington has sufficient air defence systems deployed on ships to assist Israel. However, to destroy Russian missiles and drones in Ukraine's larger airspace, the U.S. would need to send ground-based air defence systems and fighter jets, risking a direct confrontation with the Russian Armed Forces — something the White House aims to avoid, Politico concludes.

By Tamilla Hasanova