In a strong, new warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that any nation’s conventional attack on Russia that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country.
The threat, outlined in a revision of Moscow’s nuclear doctrine, was clearly aimed at discouraging the West from allowing Ukraine to strike Russia with longer-range weapons and appears to significantly lower the threshold for the possible use of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.
Speaking during Wednesday’s meeting of Russia’s Security Council, which considers changes in Russia’s nuclear doctrine, Mr Putin announced that a revised version of the document says that an attack against Russia by a non-nuclear power with the support of a nuclear power will be seen as their “joint attack on the Russian Federation”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the Security Council meeting on nuclear deterrence at the Kremlin (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Mr Putin did not specify whether the modified document envisages a nuclear response to such an attack, but he emphasised that Russia could use nuclear weapons in response to a conventional attack posing a “critical threat to our sovereignty”, a vague formulation that leaves broad room for interpretation.
Russia is making slow but steady gains in Ukraine as the conflict grinds through its third year, and the Kremlin is seeking to discourage stronger Western support for Kyiv.
The change in the doctrine follows Mr Putin’s warning to the US and other Nato allies that allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied long-range weapons for strikes on Russia would mean that Russia and Nato are at war.
Since Mr Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, he and other Kremlin voices have frequently threatened the West with Russia’s nuclear arsenal to discourage it from ramping up support for Kyiv.
The current doctrine says Moscow could use its nuclear arsenal “in response to the use of nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction against it and/or its allies, as well as in the event of aggression against the Russian Federation with the use of conventional weapons when the very existence of the state is in jeopardy”.
Mr Putin emphasised that the revised doctrine spells out conditions for using nuclear weapons in greater detail, noting they could be used in case of a massive air attack.
He said: “Conditions for Russia’s move to use nuclear weapons are clearly stated” in the revisions.
“We will consider such a possibility when we receive reliable information about a massive launch of air and space attack assets and them crossing our state border,” he added, citing “strategic and tactical aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, hypersonic and other flying vehicles”.
Putin said the revised doctrine could spell out conditions for using nuclear weapons in greater detail (Aleksei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The broad formulation appears to significantly broaden the triggers for possible nuclear weapons use, compared with the current version of the document, which states Russia could tap its atomic arsenal if it receives “reliable information about the launch of ballistic missiles targeting the territory of Russia or its allies”.
The new phrasing holds the door open to a potential nuclear response to any aerial attack.
Ukraine has repeatedly struck Russian territory with missiles and drones in response to Moscow’s attacks.
Mr Putin also said the revised doctrine envisages that Russia could use nuclear weapons in response to aggression against its ally Belarus, adding that he has agreed on the issue with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Mr Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron hand for more than 30 years, has relied on Russia’s subsidies and support.
He has let Russia use his country’s territory to send troops into Ukraine and allowed the Kremlin to deploy some of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.