Russia says it has become necessary for Moscow to revise its nuclear doctrine because of Washington’s escalation of the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin has blamed the “collective actions of the West” in Ukraine for such a move, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has reportedly said.
Without revealing what the changes will be to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, Moscow has said that certain changes are required to be made on the policy over the circumstances for the use of its nukes.
President Vladimir Putin had set the current nuclear doctrine in place four years ago. According to that, Russia may use nuclear weapons in the scenario where it comes under a nuclear attack or if a conventional attack threatens the existence of the state.
An update to the Russian nuclear doctrine is now necessary “against the backdrop of the challenges and threats provoked by the countries of the so-called collective West”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said.
Moscow foresees the likelihood of Ukraine using long-range missiles and other weapons supplied by the United States to attack deep inside Russian territory, Mr Peskov said.
Ukraine has reportedly been negotiating with its allies for Kyiv to use weapons supplied by the West to target deep inside Russian territory. Ukraine’s appeals have grown louder and more frequent as Russia has increased its airstrikes to target Ukraine’s energy and other infrastructure.
“Ukraine will obviously do this, and we are taking that into account,” Mr Peskov reportedly said, according to a Reuters report.
Russia has stepped up its airstrikes on Ukraine. At least 50 people were killed and more than 270 wounded when Russia hit a military institute in Ukraine’s central town of Poltava with two ballistic missiles on Tuesday, in the year’s single-deadliest attack of the war.
Writing on social media website X, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy vowed that Russia will “surely pay for this strike”.
Calling it a “terror attack”, Me Zelenskyy wrote, “We continue to urge everyone in the world who has the power to stop this terror: Ukraine needs air defense systems and missiles now, not sitting in storage. Long-range strikes that can protect us from Russian terror are needed now, not later. Every day of delay, unfortunately, means more lost lives.”
