By Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stark warning to the West on Wednesday, stating that Russia could use nuclear weapons if struck by conventional missiles, particularly if such an attack was supported by a nuclear power.
Speaking at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council, Putin announced significant changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine, framing the move as a response to evolving global threats and risks facing Russia.
“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, emphasizing a key modification to the doctrine.
The 71-year-old Kremlin leader, who holds primary decision-making authority over Russia’s vast nuclear arsenal, outlined conditions for Russia’s potential use of nuclear weapons. These include detecting the start of a massive launch of missiles, aircraft, or drones against Russian territory.
Putin also stated that Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons if it or its ally Belarus were subject to aggression, including by conventional weapons.
This doctrinal shift comes as the United States and Britain deliberate on whether to allow Ukraine to fire Western-supplied long-range missiles into Russian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been urging allies for months to permit such strikes to limit Moscow’s offensive capabilities.
The announcement heightens tensions in a conflict that has already triggered the gravest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. With Ukraine losing ground to advancing Russian forces in the east, Russian officials describe the current phase of the war as the most dangerous to date.
Putin framed the doctrinal changes as carefully calibrated and commensurate with modern military threats facing Russia. The revisions expand the scenarios under which Russia might consider a nuclear strike and explicitly include ally Belarus under its nuclear protection.
In response to Putin’s remarks, Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, dismissed the announcement as ineffective “nuclear blackmail.”
The Russian president also emphasized the continued importance of the country’s nuclear triad in maintaining strategic parity and global balance of power.
As the world’s largest nuclear power, Russia, along with the United States, controls 88% of global nuclear warheads. This announcement underscores the heightened stakes in the ongoing Ukraine conflict and its potential to escalate into a broader, more dangerous confrontation between nuclear powers.
