Just days after the United States allowed Ukraine to use its long-range missile for deep strikes within Russian territory; President Vladimir Putin has approved changes to his country’s nuclear doctrine.
The changes to the nuclear doctrine have been approved by Putin on Tuesday.
The most noticeable change is that it expands the conditions under which nuclear weapons can be used by Moscow.
To put things into perspective, Russia can now use nuclear weapons in instances when a non-nuclear state supported by nuclear power attacks its area.
The timing suggests that it is the U.S. President Joe Biden’s approval to Kyiv for using the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) for deep strikes within Russian territory that has brought about this shift in the Russian nuclear doctrine.
When reports of the U.S. go-ahead for use of ATACMS had surfaced, Kremlin had warned that it could lead to a significant new round of escalation in the ongoing war.
The revised doctrine approved by Putin states that nuclear strikes by Moscow can be justified in case of aggression against the Russian Federation “by any non-nuclear state with the participation or support of a nuclear state.”
It further states that nuclear retaliation by Russia can be carried out if there is a deployment of missile defense systems, medium- and short-range ballistic missiles, precision non-nuclear and hypersonic weapons, strike drones and directed energy weapons by a potential adversary.
Putin’s new nuclear rules shock West as Ukraine strikes Russia with US missile