Putin amends Russia's nuclear weapons doctrine, lowers threshold for n-attacks

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday (November 19) formally approved the new nuclear weapons doctrine for his regime.

Russia’s new nuclear doctrine, which Putin had outlined in September, significantly lowers the threshold for nuclear attacks. It allows for the usage of nuclear weapons even in response to a conventional attack on Russia.

The formalisation of the new nuclear weapons doctrine comes two days after US President Joe Biden reportedly authorised Ukraine to use long-range US weapons for attacks inside Russia. Under the new nuclear policy, such an attack would allow for the usage of nuclear weapons .

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Putin and his senior officials have frequently issued threats involving nuclear weapons to not just Ukraine but to its partners as well, such as the United Kingdom.

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Outlining the new nuclear weapons doctrine in September , Putin had said that Russia would consider a conventional attack aided by a nuclear-armed state as a joint attack, which would make such an act eligible for retaliation by nuclear weapons.

The new Russian nuclear doctrine would allow Russia to attack a nation with nuclear weapons even in case of a conventional attack if the attack posed a “critical threat to our sovereignty”, said Putin.

“It is proposed that aggression against Russia by any nonnuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, be considered as their joint attack on the Russian Federation…The conditions for Russia’s transition to the use of nuclear weapons are also clearly fixed,” said Putin, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

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The previous Russian nuclear weapons doctrine allowed the usage of nuclear weapons only in case of a nuclear attack.

Outlining the new doctrine further, Putin said that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons if it were convinced that a mass cross-border attack by air from strategic and tactical aviation, cruise missiles, drones, and hypersonic weapons is being launched at Russia.

Under the new doctrine, Ukraine’s attacks inside Russian from US, British, or French weapons would allow Russia to use nuclear weapons.

After Biden’s authorisation to Ukraine to use US weapons for strikes inside Russia, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to issue similar approvals for UK-French long-range weapons.