• The United States appears better positioned on energy since we are a significant producer, according to Fiona Hill, the former director of Russia on the National Security Council. “

• The Pentagon is currently working to secure NATO members’ commitment to maintaining military support for Ukraine.

• “He has not threatened us with nuclear weapons, as some have suggested.

• According to U.S. officials, Ukraine’s approval and backing are necessary for any resolution discussions with Russia.

• By the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the United States and Russia will resume official talks on nuclear inspections, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Tuesday.

Some European cities have seen protests due to growing prices and the high cost of heating as temperatures drop, adding to the pressure on governments to decide whether or not to support Ukraine in light of local circumstances.

The United States appears better positioned on energy since we are a significant producer, according to Fiona Hill, the former director of Russia on the National Security Council. “We really should have started planning for this shift sooner.”

“Things are stable for now,” one American official added, “but it is a delicate scenario.” The official, like others interviewed in this story, was given anonymity to discuss internal decisions.

The Department of State did not respond to requests for comment.

Many European capitals have shifted their focus from supporting Ukraine’s military “to dealing with the energy crisis,” according to Max Bergmann, European program director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. This is due to the Kremlin’s decision to halt energy shipments due to sanctions.

To get their citizens through the winter, European Union member states are “putting Covid-style relief packages together,” he claimed.

However, some authorities are optimistic about the longevity of backing from Europe and other allies.

An official from NATO said this week that Ukraine has “unwavering support” from the states involved.

U.S. officials’ worries about Russia’s nuclear threat in Ukraine have prompted warnings about retaining Europe’s support.

U.S. intelligence reports have been circulating throughout the government for the past month, suggesting that Russian troops are losing ground in Ukraine and may be relying on their nuclear deterrence assets. There was no indication of a nuclear attack from the intelligence community.

Two officials said that while some in the Biden administration are very concerned about the threat, others are trying to play it down, believing that Russia wants to avoid a confrontation in Ukraine and that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using the threat as a negotiating tactic to pressure Ukraine to make concessions on the battlefield.

Hill stated that Putin was “engaged in nuclear blackmail” by doing this. Putin is mulling through several strategies for accomplishing this. Therefore, we must take measures to render it impossible for him to achieve his goal or make it abundantly evident that he will not perform it. As a result, we must approach diplomacy with utmost seriousness. For this reason, we must frame it together with other nuclear powers to declare, “This is not allowed.”

Due to the nuclear fears, the United States has increased its diplomatic and national security outreach to its allies to define its policy in Ukraine and cement European backing over the winter.

The United States recently told top European leaders in Brussels, London, and Berlin that sanctions suffocate Russia’s economy.

The Pentagon is currently working to secure NATO members’ commitment to maintaining military support for Ukraine. When meeting with NATO leaders behind closed doors in Brussels last October, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin emphasized the importance of supporting Ukraine by supplying additional weapons, especially those compatible with NATO hardware. Austin admitted that Ukraine is keen on joining NATO but didn’t expect any decisions to be taken anytime soon. One of the officials and a summary of the discussion obtained by POLITICO reported that other NATO delegates, including those from Poland and Greece, expressed support for Ukraine’s application.

Officials from the United States expressed optimism that their recent overtures would help defuse tensions with other European nations.

European officials have also been briefed on the need to keep up a dialogue with Russia over the following months.

The two individuals stated that for weeks, U.S. officials from all levels of the Biden administration had been in contact with their Russian counterparts directly and indirectly through intermediaries. They did not elaborate on the nature of these discussions. The official conversations were described as “regular and customary” by one of the officials involved. One party indicated that they and the other talked about “a range of problems.”

According to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, the Biden administration assured lawmakers this fall that senior diplomats and national security officials were actively engaged in talks with Russia on a variety of topics well before the publication of a letter from the Congressional Progressive Caucus calling for the U.S. to engage diplomatically with Russia.

While Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, declined to comment on particular conversations between the United States and Russia, she did say that the administration had “the capacity to engage directly at senior levels with the Russian government as appropriate.”

It’s been happening for a while now, she said. The U.S. and Russian governments are meeting to discuss ways to lower tensions in their relationship. It is entirely unrelated to Ukrainian diplomacy.

According to a NATO source who talked with reporters this week, Russia’s nuclear rhetoric has subsided over the past few days, and “we don’t see any preparations in real terms on the Russian side with reference to their nuclear weapons.” Another quote from the official: “a nuclear war shouldn’t be waged and can never be won, and I think we are in a scenario where the Russians truly think the same.”

Regarding the Russian nuclear threat, Hill stated that discussions “cannot be done bilaterally between the U.S. and Russia.”

He has not threatened us with nuclear weapons, as some have suggested. She claimed that he was making nuclear threats to Ukraine.

According to U.S. officials, Ukraine’s approval and backing are necessary for any resolution discussions with Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a speech on Monday that while he was willing to engage in “real” peace negotiations with Russia, his primary priority was ending Russia’s current aggression, which has included a volley of attacks on Ukraine’s essential infrastructure.

By the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the United States and Russia will resume official talks on nuclear inspections, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Tuesday.

When asked about the value of diplomacy and conversation, Price responded, “We believe firmly… in the transformative potential and relevance of both.” When it comes to Russia, we clearly understand what a conversation with the United States might involve and what it can lead to.

U.S. officials are understandably nervous about straying too far from the New START topic during these talks with the Russians, so according to one source familiar with the preparations, the focus of the U.S. approach will be kept tight.

Analysis by: Advocacy Unified Network