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Washington has privately warned Moscow of "catastrophic" consequences if Russian President Vladimir Putin instructs his military to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, top U.S. officials said in interviews broadcast Sunday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan made the comments after Kremlin officials doubled down on the veiled nuclear threat Putin made in announcing the mobilization of some 300,000 reservists last week, Axios reported.

"We have been very clear with the Russians publicly, and, as well as privately, to stop the loose talk about nuclear weapons," Blinken told CBS News' "60 Minutes."

"It's very important that Moscow hear from us and know from us that the consequences would be horrific. And we've made that very clear," Blinken said.

Blinken added that he wouldn't "get into what the consequences would be" for the Kremlin, but the Biden administration had a plan for such an event and he noted that "any nuclear weapons would have catastrophic effects" for the country using them and others.

Sullivan said during three separate interviews on Sunday that U.S. officials had warned their Moscow counterparts of "catastrophic consequences" if Putin's forces were to use nuclear arms in Ukraine.