President Putin expands scenarios for Russia’s use of nuclear weapons

The last update to Russia’s nuclear doctrine was in 2020 / Photo: Shutterstock

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine, expanding the scenarios under which Russia may use nuclear weapons.

«We have to consider new military threats and risks to Russia and our allies. It is important to project possible future scenarios and adjust the strategic planning document to current realities,» he said during a meeting of the Russian Security Council, convened to discuss issues related to nuclear deterrence.

According to the Russian business outlet Kommersant, the updated doctrine will expand the number of countries and defense alliances subject to nuclear deterrence. It will also increase the range of military threats that require nuclear deterrence measures.

The new doctrine will state that any aggression against Russia by a non-nuclear state, if supported by a nuclear power, will be treated as a joint attack on the Russian Federation.

Putin also outlined several scenarios where Russia could resort to nuclear weapons. These include situations where the Russian government has reliable information about the launch of ballistic missiles or a massive aerospace assault crossing Russia’s borders.

Additionally, Russia could use nuclear weapons if its neighboring ally Belarus is attacked, or if there is a critical threat to the sovereignty of either Russia or Belarus involving conventional weaponry.

In March, Putin stated that Russia was prepared to wage nuclear war from a military and technical standpoint but noted there was no need to use nuclear weapons during the war in Ukraine. He emphasized that the U.S. was aware that any American military presence in Ukraine or Russia would be considered an intervention by the Kremlin.

In June, some media outlets reported that NATO was negotiating to deploy more nuclear weapons and place them on high alert in response to growing threats from Russia and China. As of 2023, Russia and the U.S. controlled nearly 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons, according to SIPRI. At that time, the U.S. had 1,770 deployed nuclear warheads, Russia had 1,674, China had 410, France had 280 and the U.K. had 120.