Putin Widens Scope Of Russia's Nuclear Doctrine

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on September 25 that a conventional attack on Russia by any country that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack.

Putin made the statement as he outlined revisions to Russia’s nuclear doctrine at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council in Moscow.

Russia's current nuclear doctrine says Russia may use nuclear weapons in case of a nuclear attack by an enemy or a conventional attack that threatens the existence of the state.

The revised version of the document says that Russia could use nuclear weapons in response to a conventional attack posing a “critical threat to our sovereignty,” Putin said.

"It is proposed that aggression against Russia by any nonnuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, be considered as their joint attack on the Russian Federation," Putin said.

"The conditions for Russia's transition to the use of nuclear weapons are also clearly fixed," Putin said, adding that Moscow would consider such a move if it gets reliable information about the start of a mass cross-border attack by air from strategic and tactical aviation, cruise missiles, drones, and hypersonic weapons.

Putin also said the list of states and military alliances subject to nuclear deterrence should be expanded but did not mention which countries would be added.

A top Ukrainian government official denounced the revisions, saying they proved Moscow had nothing left but nuclear blackmail to intimidate the world.

"Russia no longer has any instruments to intimidate the world apart from nuclear blackmail," Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president's office, said on September 25 on Telegram. "These instruments will not work."

Since Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, he and others in the Kremlin have threatened the West with Russia's nuclear arsenal to discourage it from ramping up support for Kyiv.

The revisions come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy seeks permission from his allies in the United States and Europe to use the longer-range weapons to strike deep inside Russian territory.

The change follows Putin’s warning to the United States and other NATO allies that allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied longer-range weapons to hit Russian territory would mean that Russia and NATO are at war.

Putin said the revisions were carefully calibrated and commensurate with the modern military threats facing Russia.