Russia’s Putin signs revised doctrine that limits the use of nuclear weapons
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a revised nuclear doctrine declaring that a general attack on Russia by any nuclear-backed nation would be considered a joint attack on his country.
Putin’s approval of the new nuclear deterrence policy comes on the 1000th day after he sent troops to Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The signing follows an apparent decision by the US to allow Ukraine to strike the central border with Russia with long-range missiles supplied by the Americans, first read in reports published over the weekend.
The Russian Defense Ministry, as reported by Russian news agencies on Tuesday, said that Ukraine attacked the Bryansk region overnight with US-made ATACMS long-range missiles. Debris from the projectile fell on the military base and caused a fire, but five others were caught, the report said.
The attack did not cause any injuries or damage, said the Ministry.
The signing of the doctrine, which says any major Russian airstrike could trigger nuclear weapons, shows Putin’s readiness to threaten the use of that country’s nuclear weapons to force the West to back down as Moscow presses a slow-moving offensive in Ukraine.
Asked whether the revised doctrine was deliberately issued after the US decision to ease restrictions on Ukraine using long-range missiles to attack Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the document was published “at the right time” and that Putin had ordered it. the government revised it earlier this year to “fit in with the current situation.”
The Russian president has warned the US and other NATO allies that allowing Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike Russian territory would mean Russia and NATO are at war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a heartfelt speech to European lawmakers in Brussels to mark the 1000th anniversary, urging them to continue helping Ukraine’s defense, and warning that Russia could pull in thousands of North Korean troops.
“The more time he has, the worse things get,” he said.
Including countries that support nuclear attacks
The revised doctrine states that an attack on his country by a non-nuclear power “with the participation or support of nuclear power” would be seen as “a concerted attack on the Russian Federation.”
It does not specify whether such an attack would trigger a nuclear response. It mentions the “uncertainty of the scale, timing and location of the possible use of a nuclear deterrent” among the key principles of nuclear deterrence.
Defense Minister Bill Blair says Canada supports the Biden administration’s recent decision to allow Ukraine to fire US-supplied long-range missiles into Russian territory.
At the same time, it describes the conditions for using nuclear weapons in detail compared to the previous version of the doctrine, noting that they can be used in the event of a major air attack involving ballistic and cruise missiles, airplanes, drones and other flying vehicles. .
The broad formulation seems to greatly expand the causes of the use of nuclear weapons compared to the previous version of the document, which said that Russia can affect its atomic weapons if “reliable information is obtained about the launch of ballistic missiles targeting the territory of Russia or its allies.”
The revised doctrine assumes that Russia could use nuclear weapons in response to aggression against its ally Belarus.
Belarus’ dictator Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for more than 30 years, has come to rely on Russian funding and support. He allowed Russia to use his country’s territory to send troops into Ukraine and allowed the Kremlin to plant some of its strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Russia says it has captured another Ukrainian city
Advancing town by town, Russia since August has recorded its fastest gains in Ukraine since the first year of the war.
Russian troops said they captured the Ukrainian territory of Novoselydivka in Eastern Ukraine, TASS news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the Ministry of Defense.
After nearly three years of bombings, many Ukrainians are welcoming the possibility of retreating deeper into Russian territory as the US is warned not to escalate the war.
Meanwhile, 12 people, including a child, were killed in an attack by a Russian warplane in the northeastern region of Ukraine, Sumy, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.
An overnight drone attack on a residential building in the small town of Hlukhiv on the Russian border also injured 13 people, including three children, Ukrainian police said.
Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 51 drones and lost track of 30 more after Russia launched 87 drones overnight. Drones that disappear from radar are often brought down by Ukraine’s electronic defenses.
Russian forces have attacked the northeastern region of Sumy in recent months, damaging its critical and civilian infrastructure.
A missile strike on Sunday killed 11 people, injured 89 and knocked out power to thousands.
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