What’s Behind Putin’s Move to Change Russia's Nuclear Doctrine?

What’s Behind Putin’s Move to Change Russia's Nuclear Doctrine?

Sputnik

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement on a review of the foundational principles guiding the country’s nuclear deterrence policy is a sign of tense relations between Moscow and the West amid the ongoing Russia-NATO proxy war, experts told Sputnik. 

A series of updates to the Russian nuclear policy, which has been announced by President Vladimir Putin, is aimed at reducing the nuclear threshold and changing the balance of risk for the West, Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of the Center for European and International Studies at Russia’s Higher School of Economics, says in an interview with Sputnik.

"The West currently escalates and even conducts a hybrid war against Russia, also discussing the transformation of it into a hot war," Suslov, who also serves as deputy director of research at the Russian Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, notes.

The fundamental reason why the West does so is because it is "convinced that Russia will never use nuclear weapons and that the damage for the West of Ukraine's defeat is much higher than the damage caused by escalation," according to the analyst.

"So now Russia changes this balance and tries to convince the West that the damage for itself will be just suicidal and that it is better not to escalate further because Russia could use nuclear weapons in an increased number of options and also against Ukraine, which acts in cooperation with nuclear Western countries," Suslov says.

As for the timing of the declaration, it is linked to the Biden administration discussing the possibility of the West allowing the Kiev regime to fire long-range Western-supplied missiles deep inside Russian territory, per the pundit.

"The decision has not been made yet. So the reason why Putin mentioned those changes even before the nuclear doctrine was published is to alter this decision making and to convince the Biden administration not to take this step," Suslov concludes.

He is echoed by Mikael Valtersson, former officer of Swedish Armed Forces and ex-defense politician and chief of staff with Sweden Democrats, who says in an interview with Sputnik that Putin’s announcement of changes to the Russian nuclear doctrine reflects "very tense relations between the West and Russia," Mikael Valtersson, former officer of Swedish Armed Forces and ex-defense politician and chief of staff with Sweden Democrats, tells Sputnik.

Western countries "in practical terms are part of the war - they are waging the war in Ukraine, as a proxy war against Russia," Valtersson points out.

Russian authorities "have to do something to show that they are serious, otherwise the West will only increase what they allow Ukraine to do," Valtersson says, in an apparent reference to debates about the West’s possible greenlight for the Kiev regime launching Western-supplied long-range missile deep into Russian soil.

When it comes to Putin’s statement that Russia reserves the right to launch a nuclear strike if it is attacked by a non-nuclear state that is being supported by a nuclear power, even if conventional weapons are used, it is "clearly" linked to the fact that Ukraine "can't attack Russian targets without Western satellites," according to the expert.