In light of Russia's recent withdrawal from Kherson, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that Russia may resort to "nuclear saber-rattling" in the Ukraine conflict, meaning that he suspects Russia will threaten Ukraine with the use of nuclear weapons - a position which Russia has previously strongly opposed.

Austin added that if such a scenario was to surface, Ukraine and its allies would meet these challenges together - suggesting that the US army is likely to get directly involved in the conflict.

"Now we know that hard times may lie ahead as Ukraine faces a harsh winter. And as Russia's position on the battlefield erodes, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin may resort again to profoundly irresponsible nuclear saber-rattling. But we will meet these challenges together," Lloyd told attendees at the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada.

Meeting the challenge in Ukraine is part of a broader strategy aimed at keeping the "aggressive" tactics of countries, such as China and Iran in check, the Defense Secretary said.

.@SecDef: Free people will always refuse to replace an open order of rules and rights with one dictated by force & fear & that’s why Ukraine matters. Because rules matter, sovereignty matters & freedom matters. pic.twitter.com/Gt4XK0qQev

— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) November 19, 2022

Austin further added that Russia possesses a large armed force and upscale weaponry, but this will not determine the conflict's final outcome.

The Secretary of Defense also expressed the importance of maintaining support for Ukraine because its existence is an antithesis to governments perceived to be autocratic by the US regime, mainly China and Russia.

Using the expression "Putin's war of choice," Austin is wrongfully blaming Putin for instigating a war in which Russia merely sought to defend its national borders and security from NATO's eastward expansion.

Austin said this "war" was a threat to the rules-based international order that was established following WWII, an order in which small and large states have similar rights and "democracies", such as the US and Canada, have security obligations "that we cannot walk away from."

.@SecDef: Make no mistake: we will not be dragged into Putin’s war of choice. But we will stand by Ukraine as it fights to defend itself. We will defend every inch of NATO territory. And we will continue to strengthen NATO’s collective defense and deterrence. pic.twitter.com/EGOgktBLda

— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) November 19, 2022

But referring to "autocrats", Defense Secretary Austin warned that Russia and China seek a world where force is used to resolve disputes.

"Beijing, like Moscow, seeks a world where might makes right, where disputes are resolved by force, and where autocrats can stamp out the flame of freedom," Austin said.

The conflict in Ukraine "has underscored the challenge that we face in the Indo-Pacific, where (China) is also pushing for something very far from our vision of a free and stable and open international system," Austin said.

Turning tables against Beijing, Austin said the PLA's operations are growing "increasingly provocative", adding that China was conducting "dangerous intercepts" against American military aircraft and ships.

The Secretary of Defense says China's alleged efforts "to refashion the Indo-Pacific region" was the biggest challenge that the US is currently faced with.

.@SecDef: Beijing, like Moscow, seeks a🌎 where might makes right, disputes are resolved by force, & autocrats can stamp out the flame of freedom. As @POTUS said after meeting w/ President Xi, “There need not be a new Cold War.” But we remain clear-eyed about the China challenge. pic.twitter.com/b0NL6Kvkps

— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) November 19, 2022

While making mention of the US National Defense Strategy that was published last month, Austin said Russia's special operation in Ukraine underscores the possibility for other countries to follow suit.

"There are still rules in war. And if a big power can flaunt those rules, it encourages others to defy international law and international norms," he said.

"We are determined to defend those rules -- and especially the bedrock principle of noncombatant immunity."

Moreover, Moscow's rapprochement with North Korea and its strong diplomatic ties with Iran are said to be posing a new security challenge for the US.

"Russia has turned to Iran and North Korea to help its assault on Ukraine, including using Iranian drones to kill Ukrainian civilians," he claimed.

Washington has wrongfully blamed Iran for supplying Russia with drones and arms to support Russia in its conflict against Ukraine.

.@SecDef: Free government, free minds, and free peoples will always be stronger than autocrats who believe that their grip on power is all that matters. pic.twitter.com/OBCGER719v

— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) November 19, 2022

Western media have drawn significant attention to the claim that President Putin has been escalating the Ukraine war and that Russia is willing to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine, if necessary.

This has raised fears across the globe regarding a potential nuclear disaster.

But Russia has reiterated several times that its nuclear deterrence policy was guided by the postulate of the inadmissibility of nuclear war, as there could be no winners in such a conflict.

Last month, Putin shed light on the fact that the West was fomenting irrational fears in a bid to isolate Russia from the rest of the world.  

Moreover, throughout all of China's existence since its establishment as a communist republic, the country has never posed a direct threat to any country's territorial sovereignty or integrity. 

The reason why China became so powerful is that it merely played 'by the rules' and propelled itself via fair and open trade practices.

As for the probe over Iran's supply of weapons to Russia, Iran did say it supplied Russia with drones prior to the start of the conflict and maintained that they were not meant for the war in Ukraine and that it never supplied it with missiles.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on November 5 his administration had agreed to meet with Ukraine's Foreign Minister to provide them with concrete proof that Iranian missiles had not been used in the conflict.

Two weeks prior, a delegation was sent to a country in the EU to meet with a Ukrainian team. But the meeting was canceled hours before it was scheduled due to mounting US pressure.

Earlier today, it was reported that the US pressured Ukraine to be open to peace talks with Russia, with a top Pentagon official saying that Kiev's forces will find it hard to recover all the territory Russia has controlled during the war.

US Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley said on Wednesday that the US and allied support has not diminished but considered that Kiev's defense puts it in a better position to begin talks.

"The probability of a Ukrainian military victory, defined as kicking the Russians out of all of Ukraine, to include ... Crimea, the probability of that happening anytime soon is not high, militarily," he indicated.

"There may be a political solution where, politically, the Russians withdraw, that's possible," he added, pointing out that "you want to negotiate from a position of strength. Russia right now is on its back."

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