Biden warns of 'Armageddon' amid Russia nuclear threat

Oct. 6 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden on Thursday warned that the world could be heading toward "Armageddon" and that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "not joking" about his threats to use nuclear weapons amid the war in Ukraine.

His comments came at a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in New York, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal reported.

Biden said the United States is trying to find an "off-ramp" for Putin amid the "prospect of Armageddon."

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

"I don't think there's any such thing as the ability to easily use tactical nuclear weapons and not end up with Armageddon."

His comments come after national security advisor Jake Sullivan said last week that the United States does not presently see "indications about the imminent use of nuclear weapons."

Putin signed a decree Wednesday, ostensibly taking over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is Europe's largest nuclear power facility, after illegally annexing the region and three others into Russia even as Russian troops continue to suffer steep losses.

The nuclear power plant's director-general, who was abducted by Russian forces last week, has since been released. Putin has also recently renewed his nuclear threats.

"And at the threat to the territorial integrity of our country, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people," Putin said in a recent televised national address. "It's not a bluff."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday praised the support of neighboring countries after Ukraine submitted an application to join NATO after the presidents of nine central and eastern European nations issued a joint statement backing Ukraine's longshot bid and condemning Russia's war.

A recent scientific study published in the journal Nature Food found that billions would die of hunger after a nuclear war between the United States and Russia.