Russian President Vladimir Putin (File Photo) Photograph:(AFP)
BBC NEWS | Published November 19, 2024
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.
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 which 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 criticised it as “nuclear sabre-rattling” to deter its allies from providing further support.
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SOURCE: www.bbc.com
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Vladimir Putin speaks during the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 24, 2024.
CNN NEWS | Published November 19, 2024
President Vladimir Putin has updated Russia’s nuclear doctrine, two days after his US counterpart Joe Biden granted Ukraine permission to strike targets deep inside Russia with American-made weapons.
Under the updated doctrine, Moscow will consider aggression from any non-nuclear state – but with the participation of a nuclear country – a joint attack on Russia.
The change comes as the Kremlin responds to the Biden administration’s decision to allow Ukraine to use powerful American weapons inside Russia, a move the Russian government has already signaled would be a dangerous escalation of the war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin began this fresh round of nuclear saber-rattling Tuesday, saying the revised military doctrine would in theory lower the bar to first use of nuclear weapons.
In a phone call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov noted the changes mean that “the Russian Federation reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in the event of aggression using conventional weapons against it and/or the Republic of Belarus.”
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