PPresident Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a revised nuclear doctrine declaring that a general attack on Russia by any nation with nuclear weapons would be considered a coordinated attack on his country.
Putin’s endorsement of the new nuclear deterrence policy comes on the 1,000th day after he sent troops into Ukraine, on February 24, 2022.
This follows the decision of American President Joe Biden to allow Ukraine to strike weapons inside Russia with long-range missiles provided by the US.
The signing of the doctrine, which says any major Russian airstrike could trigger nuclear weapons, shows Putin’s readiness to use the country’s nuclear arsenal to force the West to back down as Moscow presses a slow-moving offensive in Ukraine.
Asked whether the revised doctrine was released on purpose after Biden’s decision, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the document was published “at the right time” and that Putin ordered the government to revise it earlier this year to “conform to the current situation.”
Read more: Europe Dismisses Latest Russian Nuclear Threats
Putin first announced changes to the nuclear doctrine in September, when he chaired a meeting discussing the proposed revisions.
The Russian president has warned the US and other NATO allies that allowing Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike Russian territory would mean Russia and NATO are at war.
The revised doctrine states that a Russian attack by a non-nuclear power “participating in or supporting nuclear power” would be seen as “a concerted attack on the Russian Federation.”
It adds that Russia could use nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear strike or conventional attack that poses a “serious threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Russia and its ally Belarus, a vague formulation that leaves wide room for interpretation.
It does not specify whether such an attack would trigger a nuclear response. It mentions the “uncertainty of the scale, timing and location of the potential use of the nuclear deterrent” among the key principles of nuclear deterrence.
The document also notes that aggression against Russia by a member of a military group or alliance is considered “organizational aggression,” a clear reference to NATO.
At the same time, it describes the conditions for using nuclear weapons in more detail compared to previous versions of the doctrine, noting that they can be used in the event of a major air attack involving ballistic and cruise missiles, airplanes, drones and other flying vehicles.
The broader draft appears to greatly expand the infrastructure that could be used for nuclear weapons compared to the previous version of the document, which stated that Russia could use its atomic weapons in the event of a missile attack.
President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist for more than 30 years and relies on Russian funding and support, has allowed Russia to use his country’s territory to send troops to Ukraine and plant some of its most sophisticated nuclear weapons.
Ever since Putin sent troops into Ukraine, he and other Russian voices have been threatening the West with Russian nuclear weapons to discourage them from rallying support for Kyiv.
Russia hawks have been seeking to strengthen the doctrine for months, saying the previous version failed to stop the West from increasing its aid to Ukraine and created the impression that Moscow would not use nuclear weapons.
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