At a moment the West - especially the US and UK - are still mulling whether to allow Ukraine forces to attack Russian territory using NATO-provided long-range missiles, President Vladimir Putin has just issued a hugely significant statement regarding his country's nuclear doctrine.
Putin on Wednesday very clearly lowered the threshold regarding Russian strategic forces' use of nukes. He in a televised address to Russia’s Security Council said nuclear doctrine has been effectively revised in light of the "emergence of new sources of military threats and risks for Russia and our allies." This is clearly in response to the latest series of escalated cross-border attacks from Ukraine deep into Russian territory. Some of these have threatened to hit Moscow.
He went on to describe that in the event Western powers assist another nation in a major attack on Russian soil, those same Western powers will also be held responsible. This can trigger Russian nuclear launch, according to the new doctrine. This lowers the bar for what can be considered an 'existential threat' against the Russian homeland and its population.
Putin laid out, according to a translation: "The updated version of the document proposes that aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear-weapon state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear-weapon state, should be considered as a joint attack on the Russian Federation."
While not stating that this would automatically greenlight the ability of Russia to respond with nuclear weapons, he did assert that the threshold for their use would be met based on "reliable information about a massive launch of aerospace attack means and their crossing of our State border."
He then included defense of Belarus as being part of the change: "We reserve the right to use nuclear weapons in the event of aggression against Russia and Belarus as a member of the Union State," Putin said.
The below is a paraphrase of Putin's words and some further details of the changes by state-run RT:
Moscow would also “consider” resorting to a nuclear response if it gets “reliable information” about a “massive” missile or air strike launched by another state against Russia, or its closest ally, Belarus, according to Putin. The weapons used in an enemy’s potential strike could include anything from ballistic or cruise missiles to strategic aircraft and drones, he stated.
The timing of this dramatic and serious alteration in nuclear policy is without doubt aimed at Zelensky's visit to the United States, where he is presenting Ukraine's 'victory plan' separately to President Biden, VP Harris, as well as Donald Trump.
No comments:
Post a Comment