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What does Russia's new nuclear doctrine envisage?

2024-11-19 20:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Russian President Vladimir Putin officially lowered the threshold for Russia's use of nuclear weapons. This decision follows US President Joe Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to strike targets inside Russian territory with US long-range missiles.

The decision allows for a possible nuclear response by Moscow even to a conventional attack on Russia by any state that is backed by a nuclear power.

Russia's Defense Ministry said Ukraine fired six US-made ATACMS missiles on Tuesday at a military facility in Russia's Bryansk region, near the border with Ukraine. The Russian ministry added that Russian air defense shot down five of them and damaged another.

Although the doctrine envisages a possible nuclear response by Russia to such a conventional attack, its wording is too broad to obligate the use of nuclear weapons and allows President Putin to keep the options open.

The document's approval shows the Russian president's willingness to use his nuclear arsenal to force the West to back down as Moscow continues its slow-moving offensive in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine started 1000 days ago.

Asked on Tuesday whether a Ukrainian attack by US long-range missiles could trigger a nuclear response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov answered in the affirmative. He cited the provision of the doctrine that keeps the door open for this in response to an attack that threatens "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia and its ally, Belarus."

Commenting on whether the new doctrine was deliberately published after President Biden's decision, Mr. Peskov said that the document was published "at the right time." He added that President Putin instructed the government to change the doctrine earlier this year in order to be "in line with the current situation".

President Putin first announced changes to the nuclear doctrine in September. He has previously warned the United States and its NATO allies that allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied long-range weapons to strike Russian territory would mean Russia and NATO are at war. .

Washington allowed Ukraine to use long-range weapons to strike targets inside Russia after thousands of North Korean troops were deployed in Russia's Kursk region to fight Ukrainian forces.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the revised nuclear doctrine as "the latest example of irresponsibility" by "the depraved Russian government," according to spokeswoman Camilla Marshall.

"Russia is the one that continues to escalate this war and the use of North Korean troops is just one example of that," Ms Marshall said. “He can withdraw his troops, return the tanks to Russia, and end the aggression and unnecessary bloodshed in both Ukraine and Russia. … We urge him to do so.”

The updated doctrine states that an attack against Russia by a non-nuclear power with the "participation or support of a nuclear power" would be seen as their "joint attack on the Russian Federation".

The doctrine says that any massive air strike on Russia could prompt a nuclear response, but avoids making that decision necessary.

The document also states that aggression against Russia by a member country of a military bloc is seen as "aggression from the entire bloc", a clear reference to NATO.

The new doctrine, however, provides more detail, compared to previous versions, about the conditions that must be met for the use of nuclear weapons. It notes that nuclear weapons could be used in the event of a massive air strike involving ballistic missiles launched from ships, planes, drones and other aircraft.

The wording appears to significantly expand the list of triggers for the possible use of nuclear weapons compared to the previous version of the document. The previous version said that Russia could use its nuclear arsenal in the event of a ballistic missile attack.

President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for over 30 years and has relied on Russian subsidies and support, has allowed Russia to use his country's territory to send troops to Ukraine and to deploy some of Russia's nuclear weapons.

Since President Putin sent troops to Ukraine, he and other Russian officials and analysts have frequently threatened the West with Russia's nuclear arsenal to discourage it from increasing support for Kiev.

For months, Russia had raised demands to strengthen the doctrine, arguing that the previous version failed to deter the West from increasing aid to Ukraine, and created the impression that Moscow would not use nuclear weapons./ VOA