Putin lowers the threshold for using his nuclear arsenal after Biden’s weapons decision

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday formally lowered the threshold for Russia’s use of its nuclear weapons, a move that follows US President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine attack targets on Russian territory with American-supplied longer-range missiles.

The new doctrine allows for a potential nuclear response from Moscow even to a conventional attack on Russia by any country backed by a nuclear power.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Ukraine fired six US-made ATACMS missiles early Tuesday at a military facility in Russia’s Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, adding that air defenses shot down five and one more has damaged. The Ukrainian military claimed the attack hit a Russian ammunition depot.

While the doctrine envisions a possible nuclear response from Russia to such a conventional attack, it is broadly worded to avoid a firm commitment to the use of nuclear weapons and keep Putin’s options open.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed that the Ukrainian attack in Bryansk marked an escalation and urged the US and other Western allies to study the modernized nuclear doctrine.

“If the long-range missiles are used against Russian territory from the territory of Ukraine, it will mean that they are controlled by US military experts and we will regard that as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia and respond accordingly. Lavrov said on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Brazil without elaborating.

The document’s approval shows Putin’s willingness to tap his nuclear arsenal to force the West to withdraw as Moscow continues a slow-moving offensive in Ukraine as the war reaches its 1,000th day.

Asked Tuesday whether a Ukrainian attack with longer-range U.S. missiles could potentially provoke a nuclear response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied in the affirmative, pointing to the doctrine’s provision that leaves the door open for that after a conventional attack that could destroy critical threats entails for “sovereignty”. and territorial integrity: of Russia and its ally Belarus.

Commenting on whether the updated doctrine was deliberately issued to follow Biden’s decision, Peskov said the document was published “in a timely manner” and that Putin ordered the government to update it earlier this year so that it would be “in is in line with the current situation”. “

Putin first announced changes to nuclear doctrine in September, when he chaired a meeting discussing the proposed revisions. He has previously warned the US and other NATO allies that allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied longer-range weapons to hit Russian territory would mean Russia and NATO are at war.

Washington has allowed Ukraine to use longer-range weapons on targets in Russia, after saying thousands of North Korean troops had been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region to fight an incursion by Kiev’s forces.

White House officials were not surprised by Putin’s decision, and the U.S. has seen no change in Russia’s nuclear posture, said a U.S. National Security Council official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity.

As a result, the Biden administration “has not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture or doctrine in response to today’s Russian statements,” the official added. Still, the official says the White House considers it “irresponsible rhetoric.”

But the official underlined that the arrival of thousands of North Korean soldiers to take part in combat operations against Ukraine was a major escalation by Moscow that demanded a response.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced the revised nuclear doctrine as the “latest example of irresponsibility” by “the depraved Russian government,” spokesperson Camilla Marshall said.

“Russia is the one that continues to escalate this war, and the deployment of North Korean troops is just one example of that,” Marshall said. “He could remove his troops, roll back his tanks and put an end to the onslaught and unnecessary bloodshed in both Ukraine and Russia. We urge him to do so.”

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in Warsaw that her country would not be intimidated by Russia’s new policy. She said her country made the mistake of cowering in the past in the face of Moscow’s aggression, but would not do so again.

The updated doctrine says that an attack on Russia by a non-nuclear power with the “participation or support of a nuclear power” will be considered their “joint attack on the Russian Federation.”

It says any massive air strike on Russia could trigger a nuclear response, but avoids any firm commitment, citing “uncertainty about the extent, timing and location of the possible use of nuclear deterrence” as one of the key principles of nuclear deterrence.

The document also notes that aggression against Russia by a member of a military bloc or coalition is seen as “an aggression by the entire bloc,” a clear reference to NATO.

At the same time, the conditions for the use of nuclear weapons are set out in more detail compared to previous versions of the doctrine, noting that they could be used in the event of a massive air attack involving ballistic and cruise missiles, aircraft, drones and other flying vehicles. .

The wording appears to significantly broaden the triggers for possible use of nuclear weapons compared to the previous version of the document, which stated that Russia could tap its nuclear arsenal in the event of a ballistic missile attack.

President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist for more than thirty years and relied on Russian subsidies and support, has allowed Russia to use his country’s territory to send troops into Ukraine and deploy some of its tactical nuclear weapons in to put.

Since Putin sent troops to Ukraine, he and other Russian voices have repeatedly threatened the West with Russia’s nuclear arsenal to discourage the country from increasing aid to Kiev.

Russian hawks called for a tightening of the doctrine for months, arguing that the previous version failed to stop the West from increasing its aid to Ukraine and gave the impression that Moscow would not resort to nuclear weapons.