Sen. Roger Wicker, the number two Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday that President Biden should not 'rule out' military action in Ukraine if Russia invades, including the use of nuclear weapons.
'There's certain things in negotiations that if you're going to be tough that you don't take off the table,' the Mississippi Republican told Fox News' Neil Cavuto in an interview from the Capitol. 'And so I think the president should say that everything is on the table.'
The senator noted that there are already around 200 US National Guard troops on the ground in Ukraine.
'I would not rule out military action,' he continued. 'Military action could mean we stand off with our ships in the Black Sea and we rein destruction on Russian military capability.
'I would not rule out American troops on the ground. You know, we don't rule out first use nuclear action, we don't think it'll happen, but...'
The US owns an estimated 5,600 nuclear warheads, while Russia has 6,257.
Wicker also praised his Democratic colleagues who called on the president to get tough on Russia. 'Losing a free, democratic Ukraine to Russian invasion would be a game changer to a free Europe,' he said.
'I would not rule out military action,' Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said. 'Military action could mean we stand off with our ships in the Black Sea and we rein destruction on Russian military capability'
Intelligence officials stress they believe Vladimir Putin has not yet come to a decision on whether he would invade to take back the territory of Ukraine
Satellite images show increasing numbers of Russian troops massing on the border of Ukraine – as many as 175,000, according to US analysts.
Biden, during a virtual sit down with Putin on Tuesday, said he threatened the Kremlin leader with 'economic consequences like none he's ever seen.'
The US over the past decade has imposed a slew of sanctions on Russia many of them over Russia's invasion and annexation of Crimea and its support for armed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014. Others were for interference into the 2016 election, cyber attacks and human rights violations. But Putin, at the same time, has been working to insulate his economy from the effect of sanctions.
'I was very