The Washington Post reported how Sullivan persuaded India and China in 2022 to help "save the world" from Russia's nuclear threat.

The reviewer for the American publication Washington Post, David Ignatius, wrote a column about President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Among other things, he provides several details regarding events that are directly or indirectly related to the war in Ukraine.

Warning: the article may provoke a desire to use profanity.

At Sullivan's initiative, U.S. intelligence provided Kyiv with intelligence data regarding Russia's invasion preparations. This gave Ukraine a crucial advantage in the early days following Russia's invasion in February 2022. American intelligence agencies were aware that Russia intended to seize Kyiv by landing elite troops at the Hostomel airport, northwest of the city, and advancing on the capital.

Well-prepared Ukrainian forces confronted them, and the Russian offensive forces were defeated.

Russia began a retreat, which accelerated into 2022. This was a tactical triumph for Ukraine, but it led to the most significant crisis of the war from Washington's perspective.

As the Kremlin panicked, it considered desperate options. In June, American intelligence analysts began warning that while the Russian front was collapsing, Moscow was preparing for the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons to save its forces.

In the fall of 2022, amid the Russian army's retreat, American intelligence assessed the likelihood of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons as 50/50.

A potential trigger for this was perceived in Washington as the call from then-Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on October 23 of that year, warning that Ukraine was allegedly preparing to use a "dirty bomb."

(Russia has repeatedly issued such warnings during the war; none have been substantiated, and most experts consider them baseless).

American intelligence analysts warned that Russia would use tactical nuclear ammunition to prevent defeat.

As the journalist writes, to deter Russia from using nuclear weapons, Sullivan decided to engage three channels. These channels directly connected the U.S. with Moscow for warnings about catastrophic consequences.

The first channel was a direct line to Russia. To firmly warn Putin about the risks, Sullivan publicly stated that Russia would face "catastrophic consequences" if it used nuclear weapons. Biden sent a stern letter to Putin, and CIA Director William Burns met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Naryshkin to tell him that the United States would destroy the Russian army in Ukraine if it used nuclear weapons.

Another channel involved connecting with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Sullivan himself requested the IAEA chief to intervene to buy time.

Ukraine agreed to host Grossi, and he found nothing to support the claim of a dirty bomb during visits to the Kyiv Nuclear Research Institute, a uranium mining facility in Zhovti Vody, and a plant in Dnipro.

Thirdly, "the White House reached out to Chinese President Xi Jinping. Burns shared American intelligence that documented Russia's 'active consideration' of using tactical nuclear weapons with the head of China's Ministry of State Security, a high-ranking official told me," writes Ignatius.

According to him, Xi took the United States' secret warnings seriously. He sent a message to Putin, warning him against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, three informed sources reported.

Biden also asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pressure Putin, which he did at the summit in Uzbekistan that September.

This was shrewd diplomacy that defused the crisis. But Putin understood that nuclear threats were his weapon against Washington. Since then, Russia has begun to intimidate with "escalation" in its war against Ukraine, while Biden reduced further U.S. military aid to Ukraine to avoid confrontation.

Sullivan's strategy contained a paradox: Washington wanted Russia's defeat, but not one that would provoke a nuclear conflict.

General Mark A. Milley, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, publicly warned in November 2022 that a stalemate from such a strategy was the best Ukraine could achieve – and that it was time for diplomacy. "When there is an opportunity to negotiate, when peace can be achieved, seize it. Capture the moment," he said then.

Sullivan publicly dismissed Milley's call for negotiations amid the conflict's transformation into a bloody war of attrition. He called for a secret series of meetings of national security advisors in Copenhagen, Jeddah, and Kyiv in 2023 to explore diplomatic options.

However, a close advisor explained to the author that Sullivan made a dual decision regarding Ukraine: to continue supporting Ukraine to strengthen it – and through Kyiv's actions reduce Russia's combat power. At the same time, he aimed to avoid escalation risks with Russia.

This was a smart, cold-blooded strategy for the United States – to cheaply weaken America's adversary while the cost in lives (originally referred to as "meat" in the article – ed.) was borne solely by Ukraine. This is not how Sullivan would describe it, but that was the practical effect. Kissinger would approve.

Many of these details were previously shared by Bob Woodward, another veteran of the Washington Post, in his book "The War," released this year.

The main channel of communication with the Kremlin for Sullivan is President's Assistant Yuri Ushakov, writes Ignatius.

With him, Sullivan discussed not only this potential nuclear escalation but also others, such as when this year Russia placed the "Sputnik-S" object in space capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

In this instance, the U.S. also shared information with China, warning Beijing that a Russian nuclear explosion in low orbit would also destroy Chinese satellites, notes the columnist.

Background. Regarding why the Joe Biden administration, with all capabilities to stop the war in Ukraine and overcome the Putin regime, did not take action – in another thematic article by The Atlantic “How Biden Created Chaos in Ukraine and Missed a Historic Chance to Defeat Putin”.