Vladimir Putin has approved changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, setting new conditions under which the country will consider using its arsenal.
Current doctrine says that an attack from a non-nuclear state, if supported by a nuclear power, would be considered a joint attack on Russia.
An update is proposed for September and rubber-stamped Tuesday, day 1,000 of the war with Ukraine.
It also follows Washington’s decision on Monday to allowing Ukraine to fire US long-range missiles at Russia.
Under these changes, a major attack on Russia by conventional missiles, drones or aircraft could meet the criteria for a nuclear response, as could an attack on Belarus or any other country. any serious threat to Russian sovereignty.
Any act of aggression against Russia by a country that is a member of the alliance will be considered by Moscow as an act of group aggression.
According to state news agency Tass, the updates expand the number of countries and alliances as well as the types of military threats that could lead to a nuclear response.
Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons before, and Ukraine has criticized the move as “nuclear blackmail” to discourage further support from its allies.
Announcing the changes, the Kremlin called on other countries to study these changes.
According to Tass, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “This is a very important document,” adding “it must become the subject of very deep analysis.”
On Monday, Russia warned about “relevant and tangible” reacting to US President Joe Biden’s move to allow Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles to attack the country.
A State Department statement said such an attack inside Russia “would represent direct participation by the United States and its satellites in hostile activities against Russia.”
Mr. Peskov said Tuesday that the new doctrine was announced “in a timely manner” and that Mr. Putin asked for it to be updated earlier this year to make it “relevant to the current situation,” AP reported.
