Putin Signs Russia’s Amended Nuclear Doctrine

Nov. 20—The Kremlin announced yesterday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree approving the Foundations of State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence. “Today, a very important presidential decree was signed, which approves the Foundations of Russia’s State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Nov. 19, reported TASS, adding that the document had been published. “This is a very important document. Clearly, it requires in-depth analysis both in our country and, perhaps, abroad, too,” he stressed.

The fundamental principle of the doctrine is that the use of nuclear weapons is a measure of last resort to protect the country’s sovereignty. The emergence of new military threats and risks prompted Russia to clarify the conditions for the use of nuclear weapons, TASS reported separately.

In particular, the amended doctrine expands the range of countries and military alliances subject to nuclear deterrence, as well as the list of military threats that such deterrence is designed to counter. In addition, the document states that Russia will now view any attack by a non-nuclear country, supported by a nuclear power, as a joint attack. Moscow also reserves the right to consider a nuclear response to a conventional weapons attack threatening its sovereignty, a large-scale launch of enemy aircraft, missiles, and drones targeting Russian territory, their crossing of the Russian border, and an attack on its ally Belarus.

The document was signed, as the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that NATO, using its Ukrainian puppets as a cover, had launched missiles fired from the American provided and targeted ATACMS system at a military target 119 miles inside Russia.