Sullivan made his remarks when questioned about a New York Times article last month that said some unidentified Western officials had suggested U.S. President Joe Biden could give Ukraine the arms before he leaves office.

The United States is not considering returning to Ukraine the nuclear weapons the country previously agreed to give up under the Budapest Memorandum, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in an interview on Dec.

Russia is closing in on a key town in Ukraine's defensive line made vulnerable by the loss of Vuhledar, the British defence ministry says. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has signed off on increasing Russia's military spending to almost a third of the total budget.

Since the November 5, 2024 presidential election, the Biden administration has enormously expanded the scale of direct US military intervention into the Ukraine war.

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would use all weapons at its disposal against Ukraine if Kyiv were to acquire nuclear arms. The New York Times reported last week that some unidentified Western officials had suggested U.

Putin lowered the bar for a nuclear attack after the US lifted a ban on Ukraine using long-range missiles. Ukraine carried out its first strike with the weapons.

These missiles have a range of about 300 kilometers (185 miles), and Ukraine's army will be able to use them against Russian and North Korean troops in the Kursk region of western Russia, which borders Ukraine.

Providing Ukraine with nuclear weapons, which it willingly gave up in the early 1990s, is not considered part of the United States' military support efforts. Source: Jake Sullivan, US National Security Advisor,

The current administration of US President Joe Biden rejects the possibility that Ukraine could obtain nuclear weapons. It will focus on the transfer of conventional weapons, states the National Security Adviser to the President of the United States,