Vladimir Putin says Russia would consider an attack by a non-nuclear-weapon state a “co-ordinated attack”, which could be interpreted as a threat to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine.
In key remarks on Wednesday night, the Russian president said his government is considering changing the rules and conditions under which Russia will use nuclear weapons.
Ukraine is a non-nuclear state that receives military support from the US and other nuclear-armed countries.
His comments come as Kyiv seeks authorization to use Western long-range missiles against military bases in Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to the US this week and is expected to meet with US President Joe Biden in Washington on Thursday, where Kyiv’s request is expected to be at the top of the agenda.
Ukraine entered Russian territory this year and wants to target bases inside Russia that it says are sending missiles into Ukraine.
Responding to Putin’s comments, Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said that Russia “has nothing else but nuclear weapons to threaten the world”.
Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons before. Ukraine has denounced it as “nuclear sabre-rattling” to prevent its allies from providing more support.
Russia’s partner country, China, has also called for calm, as President Xi Jinping has warned Putin against using nuclear weapons.
But on Wednesday, after a meeting with his Security Council, Putin announced the proposed increase.
The new nuclear doctrine “will clearly set the conditions for Russia to switch to using nuclear weapons,” he warned – and said such conditions include conventional missile attacks against Moscow.
He said that Russia would consider such an “opportunity” to use nuclear weapons if it saw the start of large-scale firing of missiles, planes and drones in its territory, which posed a “great threat” to the country’s sovereignty.
He added: “It is proposed that an attack on Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, is considered as their joint attack on the Russian Federation.”
The country’s nuclear weapons are “the most important guarantee of the security of our state and its citizens,” the Kremlin leader said.
Since the end of the Second World War, nuclear-armed countries have engaged in a policy of deterrence, based on the idea that if warring countries were to launch large-scale nuclear strikes it would result in guaranteed destruction.
But there are also tactical nuclear weapons which are smaller warheads designed to destroy targets without spreading radioactive fallout.
In June, Putin issued a warning to European countries that support Ukraine, saying that Russia has “many other [tactical nuclear weapons] than in continental Europe, even if the United States brings theirs.”
“Europe has no development [early warning system],” he added. “In this sense, they cannot defend themselves.”
At the time he had outlined changes to Russia’s nuclear program – a document setting out the conditions under which Moscow would use nuclear weapons.
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