The risk of nuclear "Armageddon" is at the highest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, President Joe Biden said Thursday amid the threat Russian President Vladimir Putin will deploy nuclear weapons to ward off Ukraine’s attempt to reclaim control of Moscow-occupied areas. "We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis," Biden said, suggesting Putin's threat is real "because his military is — you might say — significantly underperforming." Biden's warning follows talks among Russian officials about the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons after suffering massive setbacks in the eight-month invasion of Ukraine. Putin has also repeatedly alluded to using his country's vast nuclear arsenal.