The updated version of the Russian nuclear doctrine has been finalized and is now going through the necessary procedures to become law, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. He said the changes had been made necessary by the growing involvement of Western nuclear powers in the Ukraine conflict.
The update was proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, who said that the nuclear strategy should consider “aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state,” as a “joint attack” that would trigger a nuclear response. The new rules could apply to a possible Ukrainian attack deep inside Russia with advanced weapons supplied by the West, or in case of a “massive” missile strike launched by Kiev against Russia or its closest ally, Belarus.
“The changes [to the doctrine] are ready. Now they are being formalized,” Peskov told reporter Pavel Zarubin in an interview, published on Sunday. He explained that despite Moscow’s repeated warnings against escalation over the past two years, “rabid heads in the West continue their rabid policy that can have very, very negative consequences for everyone.” Peskov stressed that the time has come to “canonize” the government’s stance on ever-increasing aggression against Russia.
“We see that the degree of involvement of Western states [in the Ukraine conflict] is constantly growing. They have no brakes, they declare their intention to continue in order to ensure victory for Ukraine,” the spokesman stressed, stating that against such a background, Russia “must make decisions and we must be ready to implement them.”
Peskov noted, however, that the direct application of the doctrine and its timing will be the “prerogative of the Russian military.”
Russia has repeatedly stated that it does not want a nuclear war, but would use such weapons in case of a threat to its national sovereignty.