Ukraine must decide its future, no nuclear arms planned: Sullivan
3 Min Read
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that Ukraine must independently decide its future, including any territorial concessions, with the US focused on providing tools for Ukraine to negotiate from a position of strength.
-
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP)
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan Sunday said that Ukraine must independently decide its path forward in the ongoing conflict with Russia, including any potential territorial concessions.
Speaking to ABC's This Week program, Sullivan stated, "The key thing from my perspective is that Ukraine determine its destiny and its destiny not be imposed by outside powers, including the United State."
Sullivan reiterated that the US has been focused on equipping Ukraine with the tools necessary to negotiate from a position of strength.
"The key thing for this year was to try to give Ukraine as many tools as possible so that they could go into that negotiation and feel they could achieve the outcome that they would like to see," he said, while noting that decisions on issues like territorial integrity and security must ultimately be made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"It is his country," Sullivan affirmed.
US Dismisses Nuclear Deployment Speculation
Elsewhere in his remarks, Sullivan also addressed recent speculation about the possible deployment of nuclear weapons to Ukraine, categorically ruling it out.
"That is not under consideration. No," he said, countering claims made in a recent New York Times report suggesting that some US and European officials had raised the idea.
Sullivan clarified that US support remains focused on conventional military aid to help Ukraine defend itself.
Read more: China calls US 'biggest nuclear threat to the world'
Nuclear Ambitions
This clarification comes as the US embarks on an ambitious and controversial effort to modernize its own nuclear arsenal, a move that has drawn significant global attention and raised concerns about a potential arms race.
A recent report by the Roscongress Foundation revealed that the US is set to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on upgrading its nuclear arsenal, including warheads, submarines, missiles, and bombers.
The US Department of Energy has allocated $138 billion for nuclear warhead modernization between fiscal years 2024 and 2049, with an additional $500 billion earmarked for stockpile management. In 2023 alone, the Pentagon received more than 200 upgraded nuclear warheads, marking the largest annual delivery since the Cold War.
Plans include replacing Ohio-class submarines with new Columbia-class carriers equipped with upgraded Trident II missiles, as well as the introduction of next-generation B-21 Raider bombers to replace aging B-52H and B-2A aircraft by 2050. These bombers will carry advanced nuclear bombs and AGM-181 Long Range Stand Off (LRSO) cruise missiles.
Escalating Tensions with Russia and China
The modernization efforts have drawn criticism for potentially escalating global tensions. Russia has accused the US of exacerbating the conflict in Ukraine while pursuing an arms race. Meanwhile, China is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal.
The Roscongress report warns, "The implementation of large-scale programs by the US to modernize nuclear warheads and weapons carriers effectively opens an arms race with Russia and China."
The US Congress has also authorized the development of "lower-yield" nuclear weapons, intended to provide more flexible options in regional conflicts but criticized for lowering the threshold for nuclear weapon use.
