Ryabkov: Russia Will ‘Introduce a Correction’ in Its Nuclear Arms Policy

Sept. 2—Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, in an interview with TASS Aug. 31, confirmed , againthat Moscow is changing its nuclear weapons use doctrine, based on the need to respond to the West’s “escalation course.”

“As we have repeatedly said before, the work is in the advanced stage, and there is a clear intent to introduce a correction [to the nuclear doctrine], caused, among other things, by the examination and analysis of development of recent conflicts, including, of course, everything connected to our Western adversaries’ escalation course in regards to the special military operation, [in Ukraine]” the Deputy Foreign Minister said.

He explained that the document is being finalized, but that changes on such a serious matter need careful deliberation. “The timeframe for its completion is a rather complicated issue, considering that we are talking about the most important aspect of our national security,” Ryabkov noted.

Nuclear weapons expert Ted Postol reported on Aug. 29 in Responsible Statecraft that in mid-March,  President Joe Biden signed  a new nuclear posture document, in which the U.S is preparing to fight a three-front nuclear war against Russia, China and North Korea, by taking out all the ICBMs in  hardened silos in Russia and China with the use of “super fuse” improvements in the accuracy of existing U.S. nuclear warheads. This was first reported in a New York Times Aug. 20 article. There has of yet been no confirmation from Washington of new policy memorandum that supposedly  was signed by Biden; the Times had reported that there were only a few copies of the highly classified document, and no electronic copies.

Russia’s current nuclear doctrine, set forth in an executive decree by President Vladimir Putin on June 2, 2020, states that Russia may use its nuclear weapons, if an enemy uses nuclear or another type of weapon of mass destruction against Russia or its allies, if there is an attack that affects Russian facilities necessary for a response, or if there is a “conventional aggression” against Russia, which threatens the very existence of the state, TASS reports.