Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday at a meeting of the Russian Security Council that Russia could use nuclear weapons if it was attacked by a country backed by a nuclear power but without nuclear weapons. Reuters reports.
The change is important because, according to regulations on the deployment of nuclear weapons that were established in 2020 and are still in force, Russia will only deploy nuclear weapons if the existence of the Russian state is threatened, or if it is attacked with nuclear weapons.
With the decision to change Russia's nuclear doctrine, the Kremlin wants to put pressure on the United States and Great Britain, which have been negotiating at an accelerated pace in recent weeks with Ukraine over the possibility of using long-range weapons provided by the two countries against military targets in Russia.
Ukraine wants to use these weapons, primarily ATACMS missiles from the United States and Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which also have American components, to strike Russian territory, but has not yet received approval because its supporters fear escalation. The next round of negotiations could come on Thursday, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with US President Joe Biden during his visit to the United States, during which he spoke at the United Nations and briefly outlined a plan for victory for Ukraine.
At the opening of the Security Council meeting, Putin said the change in nuclear doctrine was a response to a rapidly changing global environment that posed new threats to Russia. He added that the country's conditions for deploying nuclear weapons were clearly defined, but Moscow would consider such a move if it saw its territory vulnerable to a large-scale attack by missiles, aircraft or drones.
Another new element in the Russian president’s rhetoric is that he could respond to any conventional attack with a nuclear strike, even if his ally Belarus was attacked. Putin also said that the details of the new military doctrine would be refined to make it proportionate to the military threats facing Russia.
