Biden Warns That Chance of Nuclear 'Armageddon' Is Highest Since 1960s: Putin Is 'Not Joking'

Joshua Roberts/Getty; Mikhail Svetlov/Getty President Joe Biden (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin

President Joe Biden issued a stark warning about Vladimir Putin on Thursday, telling a crowd at a New York City fundraiser that the Russian president is "not joking" when it comes to veiled threats about using nuclear weapons. What's more, Biden added, the world is as close to nuclear "Armageddon" as it has been in decades.

"First time since the Cuban Missile Crisis, we have a direct threat of the use [of a] nuclear weapon if in fact things continue down the path they are going," Biden, 79, told the crowd at the event. "I'm trying to figure out what is Putin's off ramp?"

Biden continued: "Where does [Putin] find a way out? Where does he find himself in a position that he does not only lose face but lose significant power within Russia?"

Elsewhere in the speech, Biden said the world has "not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis."

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Putin, he added, is "not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons because his military is, you might say, significantly underperforming."

Biden's comments go several steps beyond what State Department officials have said of Putin's nuclear threats, which have ramped up as Russia has suffered apparent shortcomings on the battlefield in its invasion of Ukraine.

Just last month, Putin, 70, called for a partial mobilization of Russian citizens amid the ongoing invasion, saying in a speech: "When the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people. It's not a bluff," per a Reuters report.

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Others have openly worried that Putin could turn to nuclear weapons as his military underperforms, though they haven't the same stark terms as Biden.

Speaking to 60 Minutes in September, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. has been in contact with Russia concerning the "loose talk" of using nuclear weapons.

"It's very important that Moscow hear from us and know from us that the consequences would be horrific," Blinken said. "And we've made that very clear."

Earlier this week, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a briefing: "We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture, nor do we have indication that Russia is preparing to imminently use nuclear weapons."

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It's not the first time Biden has gone beyond other U.S. officials in his assessment of the Russian president. In a speech delivered in Poland in March, Biden grabbed headlines when he said, "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power," referring to Putin.

The White House later clarified that remark, with one official telling CNN: "The president's point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin's power in Russia, or regime change."

The Kremlin, meanwhile, responded to Biden's remark by calling it "most alarming" in a statement sent to Reuters, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying, "We will continue to track the statements of the U.S. president in the most attentive way."

That same month, Biden called Putin a "war criminal" when asked about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and he has previously described the Russian autocrat as a "killer" who does "not have a soul."

The Russian attack on Ukraine is an evolving story, with information changing quickly. Follow PEOPLE's complete coverage of the war here, including stories from citizens on the ground and ways to help.