US engaged in “contingency planning” for Russian strike on NATO territory

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed that he has tasked a special “Tiger Team” of experts to conduct contingency planning for the possibility that Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine or strikes NATO territory.

Biden promised after a NATO summit in Brussels Thursday that the alliance “will respond” if Russia uses weapons of mass destruction, which officials fear has become increasingly likely as Ukraine’s resistance continues to stall Russian advances.

Biden has ruled out sending U.S. troops into Ukraine, but Russia’s claims that Western convoys delivering weapons to the Ukrainians are “legitimate targets” could test NATO’s principle of collective defense, known as Article 5.

A Russian strike on a Ukrainian military site just 15 miles from the Polish border earlier this month also raised fears that the conflict could spill over into NATO territory.