MOSCOW – Russia’s amendments to the nuclear doctrine have been prepared and will soon be formalised, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview to state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin on Sunday.
Amid the recent escalation with Ukraine, in which Russia accuses the West of having a hand in sending more ammunition, President Vladimir Putin warned the latter on Wednesday that under the proposed changes to the doctrine, his country could resort to nuclear arms if it detected the start of a massive attack of missiles, aircraft, or drones against its territories.
In other words, the Russian president emphasised that “the participation or support of a nuclear state will be considered as a joint attack” against Russia.
The 2020 version of the nuclear doctrine stipulated that Russia may resort to nuclear weapons if an enemy employs nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction against Russia and its allies or targets the country’s critical facilities, jeopardising therefore the country’s very existence.
It is noteworthy that Russia is the world’s largest nuclear power. Together with the US, they control 88% of the world’s nuclear warheads.
