Biden: Public shouldn't worry about nuclear war with Russia

President Biden said Monday he does not believe Americans have reason to be concerned about nuclear war amid tensions with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Biden responded to the question with a short "no" after delivering remarks at a Black History Month event at the White House.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday put his country's deterrence forces, including nuclear arms, on high alert as Western nations ramped up sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Biden administration has largely responded by avoiding further inflaming tensions, calling Putin's action an attempt to justify further aggression. It did not put its nuclear forces on higher alert in response.

"This is really a pattern that we've seen from President Putin through the course of this conflict, which is manufacturing threats that don't exist in order to justify further aggression - and the global community and the American people should look at it through that prism," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on ABC on Sunday.