Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to deter the west from supporting Ukraine any more.
This week, he said that any conventional attack that a nation carries out against Russia that’s supported by another country considered to be a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on them, in Russia’s eyes.
The warning that Putin issued came during a recent meeting the Security Council in Russia, where the president announced he was revising the nuclear doctrine that the country has.
It comes in the wake of President Joe Biden announcing that another $375 million in security assistance will be given to Ukraine. It will come in the form of anti-tank weapons, armored vehicles, munitions, air-to-ground weapons and more.
According to Putin, the revised nuclear document will say that any attack on Russia that’s done by a non-nuclear power with the “participation or support of a nuclear power” will be seen as a “joint attack on the Russian Federation.”
In other words, it will classify the war between Ukraine and Russia now as a war between Ukraine and multiple western nuclear powers on the one side, and Russia on the other.
The doctrine also layouts out the specific conditions that Russia could use nuclear weapons, including in what he called a “massive air attack.”
As Putin said this week:
“Conditions for Russia’s move to use nuclear weapons are clearly stated [in these revisions]. We will consider such a possibility when we receive reliable information about a massive launch of air and space attack assets and them crossing our state border.”
One military expert said that this revision has opened the door for at least one major nuclear power to loosen its declaratory policy. That’s “never good,” as Samuel Charap said recently.
The RAND senior political scientists posted on the social media platform X:
“Regardless of whether you think this is a bluff or not, it’s never good when a major nuclear power loosens the conditions for nuclear use in its declaratory policy.”
For more than two years now, Putin has tried to dissuade western nations from getting involved in the war with Ukraine, which he considers to be a justified way to get back territory that he believes is rightfully Russia’s.
The United States and many other western nations, though, have been steadfast in their support of Ukraine. While no other nation has sent ground troops to fight in support of Ukraine, they’ve all sent plenty of weapons and financial assistance their way.
The new package worth $375 million that will be coming from the U.S. was announced on Wednesday by Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State. As he explained in a statement:
“The United States is committed to Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s brutal aggression. We will deploy this new assistance as quickly as possible to help Ukraine protect its territory and its people.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, has been in the United States this week, where he met on Thursday with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to talk about long-range weapons that he wants to use to hit targets deeper in Russian territory.
