Warning for the West: Putin says Russia will use nuclear arms if Ukraine attacks with 'support of nuclear state'

President Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday (September 25) that Russia could use nuclear weapons if attacked by any state, and that a conventional assault supported by a nuclear power would be treated as a joint attack on Russia.

Speaking at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council, Putin outlined proposed changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, which would further clarify the conditions under which Moscow might deploy its nuclear arsenal.

“It is proposed that aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, be considered as their joint attack on the Russian Federation,” Putin said.

“The conditions for Russia’s transition to the use of nuclear weapons are also clearly fixed,” he noted.

He said that Russia’s right to use nuclear weapons would be triggered if it detected the start of a massive missile, aircraft, or drone attack against its territory.

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Additionally, Putin reaffirmed that Russia and its ally Belarus reserved the right to use nuclear weapons if subjected to aggression, including by conventional forces.

The proposed revisions to Russia’s nuclear policy are meant to address modern military threats, Putin said, and are a response to recent geopolitical tensions– a not-so-subtle reference to the Russia-Ukraine war and talks of permitting Ukraine to use Western-made weapons to attack Russian territory.

Russia’s current doctrine states that nuclear weapons could be used in retaliation for a nuclear or mass destruction weapon attack or if the existence of the state is at risk due to a conventional military threat.

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The doctrine changes come amid Putin’s repeated warnings to the United States-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) members that supporting Ukraine’s use of long-range Western-supplied weapons to strike Russian territory would equate to Russia being at war with Nato.

Since launching its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has frequently raised the specter of its nuclear arsenal to deter Western nations from increasing military aid to Kyiv.

With inputs from AP