In what the Kremlin has labeled a warning to Western nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced plans to lower the nuclear threshold, allowing for nuclear retaliation in response to large-scale air assaults and treating attacks by non-nuclear states, when supported by nuclear powers, as joint offensives.
Moscow aims to raise the stakes and discourage further support for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, both the Concept of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation and the Kremlin’s 2024 National Threat Assessment call for displacing the U.S. and the West as global leaders, with the fall of Ukraine viewed as a crucial step in reshaping the international order under Moscow and Beijing.
As the cost of supporting Ukraine rises, the cost of allowing its collapse may be even greater.
Russia’s Defense Ministry is set to gain the power to assess whether conditions for deploying nuclear weapons are met, as part of upcoming changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
The revisions are being made in response to increased involvement of nuclear powers in the war in Ukraine and NATO’s expanded presence near Russia.
President Vladimir Putin recently announced plans to expand Russia’s nuclear policy, allowing for nuclear responses to major air attacks and considering attacks by non-nuclear nations backed by nuclear powers as joint actions.
Peskov emphasized that these changes are a clear message to Western countries contemplating support for Ukrainian long-range missile strikes on Russian territory. The amendments will soon be formalized legally.
In a further statement, Peskov emphasized that the updated nuclear doctrine is intended as a direct warning to Western countries.
He noted that the changes signal potential consequences for nations participating in attacks on Russia, not necessarily with nuclear weapons, and stressed that the doctrine is being adjusted due to rising tensions near Russia’s borders.
While the changes do not involve increasing Russia’s nuclear arsenal, they come as Ukraine continues to seek approval from Western allies to use long-range precision weaponry to strike deep inside Russian territory, a move that has met with caution from the White House to prevent further escalation.
This reduction in the nuclear threshold comes amid ongoing debates in Russia over whether the country should consider a nuclear first strike. These discussions have reached the highest levels of leadership, including President Vladimir Putin.
The debate was sparked in June by Sergei Karaganov, honorary chairman of Russia’s Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, who referred to nuclear arms as “God’s Weapons” arguing that the West must be forced into retreat by threatening, or even launching, a nuclear strike.
According to Korotchenko, the revised policy allows Russia to engage nuclear weapons if NATO collectively or a single non-nuclear country takes military action against Russia.
For example, the deployment of Polish troops in Ukraine or Romanian and Polish efforts to down Russian aircraft would be viewed as aggression, justifying a nuclear response.
Additionally, any U.S. strike with air or seaborne cruise missiles would be considered a casus belli, leading to potential nuclear retaliation against the U.S.
Korotchenko emphasized that these changes represent a significant departure from previous doctrine, now identifying the U.S., UK, and France as nuclear adversaries if conventional military actions against Russia are detected.
The revised nuclear doctrine has also expanded the scope of Russia’s protective umbrella to include its allies. Russia Today (RT) reported, “Deep strikes by Ukraine and an attack on Belarus would now trigger an atomic response.”
The Kremlin offered a tongue-in-cheek explanation for revising the nuclear doctrine, with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov criticizing the existing policy as “too general” and arguing that warning had to be made clearer.
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