美国看到的证据表明俄罗斯正在入侵乌克兰的过程中“挣扎”并警告莫斯科，如果它这样做，将会有“灾难性的后果”使用核武器在对基辅的战争中，白宫国家安全顾问周日说。
杰克·沙利文在接受美国广播公司“本周”节目主持人乔治·斯特凡诺普洛斯的采访时，既提到了反对俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京动员30万预备役人员的抗议活动，也提到了沙利文所说的俄罗斯控制地区的“虚假”吞并公投乌克兰的。
“这些绝对不是力量或信心的标志。恰恰相反:它们是俄罗斯和普京正在艰难挣扎的迹象，”沙利文说，同时指出普京对国家的专制统治使外界很难做出明确的评估。
沙利文补充说:“最终，将由俄罗斯人民来决定俄罗斯将如何发展，以及弗拉基米尔·普京试图做的事情会受到多大程度的抵制和抵制，召集成千上万的年轻人。”
“你希望他们揭竿而起，取代普京吗?”斯特凡诺普洛斯问道。
沙利文回应说:“归根结底，俄罗斯政治的未来将由俄罗斯内部的人决定，而不是由华盛顿决定，也不是由欧洲的任何人决定。”。“你现在在街上看到的是对普京所作所为的深深不满。”
他发表上述言论之际，普京的言论不断升级，因为俄罗斯军队在本月从乌克兰的反攻中撤退时，被迫放弃了乌克兰东北部的大片地区。
上周，普京召集预备役人员，并建议战术核武器可以用来改变战争的进程，毫无根据地指责西方威胁俄罗斯的领土完整。自2月份袭击乌克兰之前，普京就将入侵视为俄罗斯国家安全问题。
“我们祖国的领土完整、我们的独立和自由将得到保证，我将再次强调这一点，我们将动用一切手段。那些试图用核武器讹诈我们的人应该知道，盛行的风向可能会转向他们，”普京在上周的一次演讲中说。
“我想提醒你，我们的国家也有各种各样的破坏手段，有些部件比北约国家的更现代，”普京补充说。
在“本周”节目中，沙利文拒绝准确解释俄罗斯和美国之间传达了哪些警告，但他说，如果使用这样的武器，将会产生可怕的后果。
“我们已经私下与俄罗斯高层直接沟通，如果他们在乌克兰使用核武器，将会给俄罗斯带来灾难性的后果。我们已经向他们明确强调，美国将与我们的盟友和伙伴一起做出决定性的回应。
"所以这意味着直接向俄罗斯开战?"斯特凡诺普洛斯问道。
沙利文提出异议:“我们在公开谈论这个问题时一直很小心，因为从我们的角度来看，我们希望制定一个原则，即会有灾难性的后果，但不会参与针锋相对的游戏。”
斯特凡诺普洛斯还问沙利文，伊朗因一名女子死亡而引发的抗议活动是否足以推翻德黑兰政府，这名女子没有遵守该国严格的女性着装规定。
“美国...几十年来，我都没有准确预测抗议转变为政治变革的良好记录，我今天坐在这里也无法准确预测。我能说的是，他们确实反映了伊朗人民、海外公民和伊朗妇女的一种根深蒂固的普遍信念，即他们应该得到自己的尊严和权利。
斯特凡诺普洛斯强调，鉴于伊朗政府的行动，拜登政府是否应该继续寻求恢复唐纳德·特朗普总统废除的奥巴马时代的核协议。保守派一再批评这些努力。
沙利文说，白宫认为外交和政治压力可以齐头并进。
他说:“我们正在进行核谈判，这一事实绝不会减缓我们为伊朗人民说话和行动的速度。”。“在捍卫和倡导伊朗妇女和公民的权利方面，我们不会有丝毫松懈。”
US sees signs Russia is 'struggling,' has warned of catastrophe if Putin uses nuclear weapon: Sullivan
The U.S. is seeing evidence thatRussia is "struggling" in its invasion of Ukraineand has warned Moscow that there would be "catastrophic consequences" if itwere to use a nuclear weaponin its war against Kyiv, the White House national security adviser said Sunday.
Jake Sullivan, in an interview with ABC "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos, pointed both to the protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin's mobilization of 300,000 reservists and to what Sullivan called"sham" annexation referendums in Russian-controlled areasof Ukraine.
"These are definitely not signs of strength or confidence. Quite the opposite: They're signs that Russia and Putin are struggling badly," Sullivan said while noting Putin's autocratic hold on the country made it hard to make definitive assessments from the outside.
"It will be the Russian people, ultimately, who make the determination about how Russia proceeds and the extent to which that there is resistance and pushback to what Vladimir Putin has tried to do, calling up these hundreds of thousands of young men," Sullivan added.
"Do you want them to rise up and replace Putin?" Stephanopoulos asked.
"At the end of the day, the future of Russian politics is going to be dictated, not by Washington, not by anyone in Europe, but by the people inside Russia," Sullivan responded. "And what you are seeing in the streets right now is a deep unhappiness with what Putin is doing."
His comments come amid escalating rhetoric from Putin as Russian forces have been forced to cede large swaths of northeast Ukraine while retreating from a Ukrainian counteroffensive this month.
Last week, Putin called up reservists and suggested that tactical nuclear weapons could be used to change the course of the war, groundlessly accusing the West of threatening Russia's territorial integrity. Since before attacking Ukraine in February, Putin has cast the invasion as a matter of Russian national security.
"The territorial integrity of our homeland, our independence and freedom will be ensured, I will emphasize this again, with all the means at our disposal. And those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the prevailing winds can turn in their direction," Putin said in a speech last week.
"I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and some components are more modern than those of the NATO countries," Putin added.
On "This Week," Sullivan declined to explain precisely what warnings have been communicated between Russia and the U.S. but he said that there would be dire repercussions if such a weapon were used.
"We have communicated directly, privately, to the Russians at very high levels that there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia if they use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. We have been clear with them and emphatic with them that the United States will respond decisively alongside our allies and partners," Sullivan said.
"So that means taking the fight directly to Russia?" Stephanopoulos asked.
Sullivan demurred: "We've been careful in how we talk about this publicly because, from our perspective, we want to lay down the principle that there would be catastrophic consequences but not engage in a game of rhetorical tit-for-tat."
Stephanopoulos also asked Sullivan if protests in Iran over the death of a woman who was not adhering to the country's strict female dress code would be enough to topple the government in Tehran.
"The United States ... hasn't necessarily over many decades had a great track record of perfectly predicting when protests turn into political change, and I can't perfectly predict that sitting here today. What I can say is they do reflect a deep-seated and widespread belief among the population of Iran, the citizens abroad, the women of Iran, that they deserve their dignity and their rights," Sullivan said.
Stephanopoulos pressed, given the Iranian government's actions, if the Biden administration should continue seeking to revive the Obama-era nuclear deal which President Donald Trump scrapped. Conservatives have repeatedly criticized those efforts.
Sullivan said that the White House feels diplomacy and political pressure can go hand-in-hand.
"The fact that we are in nuclear talks is in no way slowing us down from speaking out and acting on behalf of the people of Iran," he said. "We're not going to slow down one inch in our defense and advocacy for the rights of the women and citizens of Iran."
