Vladimir Putin has signed a decree lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons, as the Kremlin intensified its rhetoric over Joe Biden’s decision to permit Kyiv to use US-made long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia.
The revised nuclear doctrine declares that a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country.
The doctrine, which outlines the conditions under which Russia’s leadership might consider launching a nuclear strike, also states that an attack using conventional missiles, drones or other aircraft could be seen as justification for a nuclear response.
While Russia has been planning to update its nuclear doctrine for months, the timing of Putin’s signature will be seen as a clear reaction to Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to conduct strikes with the 190-mile range army tactical missile system, known by the acronym Atacms, deep into sovereign Russian domain.
Shortly after Putin signed the decree, the Kremlin said the purpose of the updated nuclear doctrine was to make potential enemies understand the inevitability of retaliation for an attack on Russia or its allies.
The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov appeared to directly suggest that Russia might respond with nuclear weapons if Ukraine used western-supplied missiles to strike targets inside Russia.
“The use of western non-nuclear missiles by Kyiv against Russia, under the new doctrine, could provoke a nuclear response,” he said.
Peskov also stressed that any attack on Russia by a non-nuclear state with the participation of a nuclear state would be considered a joint attack. “Russia has always viewed nuclear weapons as a deterrent, the use of which is an extreme, forced measure,” Peskov said. He added that Russia’s military was closely monitoring any potential Ukrainian attacks with western long-range weapons.
As both Moscow and Kyiv mark the 1,000th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Peskov also said that Russia would defeat Ukraine.
Putin frequently invoked Moscow’s nuclear arsenal, the world’s biggest, in the early days of its invasion of Ukraine, pledging repeatedly to use all means necessary to defend Russia. He later appeared to moderate his rhetoric, but officials close to the Russian president recently told Nato countries they risked provoking nuclear war if they were to give the green light for Ukraine to use long-range weapons.
Moscow on Monday promised an “appropriate and palpable” response after Biden’s approval for Kyiv to use US long-range missiles for strikes within Russia.
Britain is also expected to supply its own Storm Shadow missiles for use by Ukraine on targets inside Russia, after the US approval.
More threats against the west were issued in Moscow on Tuesday. The former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev stated that the use of western-supplied missiles against Russia would be regarded as an attack by Nato bloc countries.
“In such a case, Russia reserves the right to respond with weapons of mass destruction against Kyiv and key Nato facilities, wherever they may be located,” said Medvedev, who serves as the deputy chair of Russia’s security council.
