Vladimir Putin has approved changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, setting out new conditions under which the country would consider using its arsenal.
The doctrine now says an attack from a non-nuclear state, if backed by a nuclear power, will be treated as a joint assault on Russia.
The update was proposed in September and rubber-stamped on Tuesday, the 1,000th day of the war with Ukraine. It also follows Washington’s decision on Monday to allow Ukraine to fire long-range US missiles into Russia.
What Russia’s nuclear doctrine says
Under the changes, a large attack on Russia with conventional missiles, drones or aircraft could meet the criteria for a nuclear response, as could an attack on Belarus or any critical threat to Russia’s sovereignty.
Any aggression against Russia by a state that is a member of a coalition would be seen by Moscow as aggression from the whole group.
The updates expand the number of countries and coalitions, and the kinds of military threats, subject to a possible nuclear response, according to state-run news agency Tass.
Putin has threatened the use of nuclear weapons before, and Ukraine has criticized it as “nuclear saber-rattling” to deter its allies from providing further support.
Announcing the change, the Kremlin urged other countries to study the changes. “This is a very important text,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to Tass, adding “It should become subject to a very deep analysis.”
The new doctrine was published “in a timely manner,” Peskov added and stressed that Putin had requested it updated earlier this year so that it was “in line with the current situation,” AP reported.
Ukraine fires long-range missiles in Russia’s territory
On Monday, Russia warned of “an appropriate and tangible” response to US President Joe Biden’s move to let Ukraine use ATACMS missiles to strike the country.
Such an attack inside Russian territory “would represent the direct involvement of the United States and its satellites in hostilities against Russia,” a foreign ministry statement said.
Peskov accused the Biden administration of “adding fuel to the fire and continuing to stoke tension around this conflict.”
In September, Vladimir Putin warned that NATO would be in direct conflict with Russia if Ukraine used long-range Western missiles to strike inside Russia. That challenge is about to be put to the test.
Biden reversed a ban on the firing of long-range missiles into Russian territory by permitting them to be used against Russian and North Korean forces in the Kursk region.
The White House is keen to stress the deployment of North Korean troops into Kursk fueled its decision—that this is the US’ response to Moscow’s escalation.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it had already defeated a Ukrainian ATACMS attack in the western Bryansk region.
Ukrainian forces fired six “ballistic missiles,” the ministry wrote on its official Telegram page, five of which were downed and the sixth damaged. “According to confirmed data, American-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles were used,” it wrote.