The updated version of Russia’s nuclear doctrine proposes to consider aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, as a joint attack on the Russian Federation. This was stated by President Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Russian Security Council.
The head of state noted that over the past year experts have conducted a deep analysis and assessed the necessity of adjusting approaches to the possible use of Russian nuclear forces. Based on the results of this work, it was proposed to make a number of clarifications in terms of defining the conditions for the use of nuclear weapons.
“Thus, the draft framework expands the category of states and military alliances against which nuclear deterrence is carried out. The list of military threats, for the neutralization of which nuclear deterrence measures are carried out, has been supplemented. I would like to draw your attention to something else: in the updated version of the document, aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, is proposed to be considered as a joint attack on the Russian Federation,” Putin said.
In addition, the document, he said, clearly fixes the conditions for Russia’s transition to the use of nuclear weapons.
“We will consider such a possibility already when we receive reliable information about the massive launch of aerospace attack means and their crossing of our state border. I mean strategic and tactical aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, hypersonic and other aircraft,” the head of state emphasized.
Russia also reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in case of aggression against Russia and Belarus as a member of the Union State, “including if the enemy, using conventional weapons, creates a critical threat to our sovereignty,” Putin added. All these issues have been agreed upon with the Belarusian side.
“All the clarifications are deeply calibrated and commensurate with modern military threats and risks against the Russian Federation,” the president emphasized.