President Vladimir Putin said Russia would consider an attack from a non-nuclear state supported by a nuclear state as a “coordinated attack”, which could be interpreted as a threat to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war. He said that there is.
In important remarks Wednesday night, the Russian president said his government is considering changes to the rules and preconditions for Russia to use nuclear weapons.
Ukraine is a non-nuclear state and receives military support from the United States and other nuclear states.
His comments came as Kiev seeks approval to use Western long-range missiles against Russian military sites.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is scheduled to visit the United States this week and meet with US President Joe Biden in Washington on Thursday, where Kyiv’s request is expected to be at the top of the agenda.
Ukraine has invaded Russian territory this year and wants to target bases inside Russia that it claims are sending missiles into Ukraine.
Reacting to Putin’s remarks, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said Russia “no longer threatens the world other than nuclear blackmail.”
President Putin has previously threatened to use nuclear weapons. Ukraine has criticized it as a “rattle of nuclear sabers” meant to deter allies from further aid.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the comments “totally irresponsible” in an interview on MSNBC television.
Russia’s ally China has also called for calm following reports that President Xi Jinping has warned President Putin of using nuclear weapons.
But on Wednesday, after a Security Council meeting, President Putin announced a radical expansion plan.
The new nuclear doctrine “clearly sets the conditions for Russia to move towards the use of nuclear weapons,” he warned, adding that such a scenario would also include a conventional missile attack on Russia.
He said Russia would consider the “possibility” of using nuclear weapons if it sensed the start of a mass launch of missiles, aircraft or drones that posed a “serious threat” to Russia’s sovereignty.
He added: “It is proposed that an invasion of Russia by a non-nuclear-weapon state, with the participation or support of a nuclear-weapon state, be considered a joint attack against the Russian Federation.”
The country’s nuclear arsenal is “the most important guarantee of the security of the state and its people,” the Kremlin leader said.
Since World War II, nuclear-weapon states have pursued deterrence policies based on the idea that if a belligerent launches a large-scale nuclear attack, it will result in mutual assured destruction.
However, there are also tactical nuclear weapons, which are small warheads designed to destroy targets without spreading radioactive fallout widely.
In June, President Putin warned European countries supporting Ukraine that Russia “has more (tactical nuclear weapons) than we have in continental Europe, even if the United States brings them.”
“Europe doesn’t have very developed (early warning systems),” he added. “In this sense, they are more or less defenseless.”
At the time, he hinted at changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, the document that sets out the conditions under which Russia can use nuclear weapons.
The Kremlin said Thursday that the changes outlined by President Putin should be seen as a warning to Western countries.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov elaborated on the move to reporters, saying: “This should be considered a specific signal. “This is a warning signal of the consequences if you do so.”
Peskov said Russia will decide whether to withhold the updated nuclear document, adding that coordination of the document on the state’s nuclear deterrent is being developed.