Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 12
AFP: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a decree broadening the scope of when Moscow can use nuclear weapons in a clear message to the West and Ukraine.
The move comes on the 1,000th day of Russia’s offensive on Ukraine and after the United States gave Kyiv permission to use long-range missiles to strike military targets inside Russia.
The new doctrine outlines that Russia will consider using nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear state if they are supported by nuclear powers.
“Aggression by a non-nuclear state with the participation of a nuclear state is considered as a joint attack,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday — a clear reference to Ukraine and its Western backers.
Russia “has always viewed nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence,” he said, adding that they would only be deployed if Russia felt “forced” to respond.
The new doctrine also allows Moscow to unleash a nuclear response in the event of a “massive” air attack, even if it only uses conventional weapons.
Moscow’s nuclear umbrella will also be extended to its close ally Belarus under the new doctrine.
