Petraeus predicts US would lead NATO response to ‘take out’ Russian forces if Putin uses nuclear weapon

Retired Gen. David Petraeus predicted Sunday that the U.S., along with NATO allies, would “take out” Russian forces if Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to use nuclear weapons in his war against neighboring Ukraine. 

During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Petraeus told co-anchor Jonathan Karl that western powers have to take Russia’s nuclear weapons threats seriously, noting National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s recent remarks that US officials have warned the Moscow of “catastrophic consequences” if the Kremlin deploys nuclear weapons. 

“And what would happen?” Karl asked. 

“Well, again, I have deliberately not talked to Jake about this. I mean, just to give you a hypothetical, we would respond by leading a NATO, a collective effort, that would take out every Russian conventional force that we can see and identify on the battlefield in Ukraine and also in Crimea and every ship in the Black Sea,” Petraeus replied.