by Kirill Velesov
[REGNUM] Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree approving a new version of the doctrine "Fundamentals of State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence." The basic principle of the doctrine has not changed, it states that nuclear weapons (NW) are an extreme measure to protect the country's sovereignty. At the same time, adjustments were made against the backdrop of a new round of escalation provoked by the United States and its allies.
At the end of last week, it became known that the United States no longer objects to Ukraine's strikes with American long-range missiles on Russian territory. In particular, this concerns the ATACMS system, which the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already used several times - then the strikes hit Donbass and Crimea. Now, with the permission of outgoing US President Joe Biden, such missiles can be sent to all Russian regions.
Ukrainian authorities have long asked the West to remove this barrier, arguing that such attacks could significantly affect the situation on the battlefield. Russian officials have called this view wrong: these strikes will not have a fundamental impact on anything, but will only hasten the end of Ukraine.
Washington has not officially confirmed the information about lifting the ban, but the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell said on November 18 that the US had indeed made such a decision, and it was discussed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers. According to him, we are talking about missiles with a range of about 300 kilometers.
And already on November 19, the press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that air defense systems shot down five American ATACMS ballistic missiles over the territory of the Bryansk region on the night of Tuesday.
It is noted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a strike with six missiles: five of them were shot down by the S-400 and Pantsir systems, the sixth missile was damaged. Its fragments fell on the technical territory of the military facility, causing a fire. There were no casualties or damage as a result.
At the same time, the possibility of allowing the Kyiv regime to strike Russia with its missiles was first seriously discussed in the United States back in September. At that time, Biden said that the issue was under discussion.
In response, Vladimir Putin stated that if such attacks on Russian territory do occur, this would mean NATO’s direct entry into conflict with Russia – Moscow would take appropriate measures and give its response.
Soon, the head of the Russian state announced changes to the country's nuclear doctrine, the necessity of which was dictated by the changing international situation.
WHAT HAS CHANGED?
The nuclear doctrine of a state is not a dogma established once and for all, but a strategy that must keep pace with rapidly changing times. In the US, for example, it is rewritten for each new president.
The current updates to the Russian doctrine are precisely a response to the challenges facing the country. Russia is demonstrating to its enemies the line beyond which a potential enemy will face brutal retribution.
Russia's updated nuclear strategy illustrates the very essence of the idea of nuclear deterrence.
“Nuclear deterrence is aimed at ensuring that a potential adversary understands the inevitability of retaliation in the event of aggression against the Russian Federation and/or its allies,” the document says.
The doctrine lists the conditions for the use of nuclear deterrence. In particular, it states that the conditions for neutralizing threats are "the presence of a potential enemy and its deployment of missile defense systems and means, medium- and shorter-range cruise and ballistic missiles, high-precision non-nuclear and hypersonic weapons, strike unmanned vehicles of various basings, and directed energy weapons that can be used against the Russian Federation."
In addition, it is stipulated that nuclear deterrent forces may be used in the event that a potential adversary takes actions aimed at defeating (destroying, annihilating) ecologically hazardous facilities of the Russian Federation, which may lead to man-made, ecological or social disasters.
It is emphasized that the use of nuclear weapons remains an extreme and necessary measure in the event of a threat to statehood; Russia “is making all necessary efforts to reduce the nuclear threat and prevent the aggravation of interstate relations that could provoke military conflicts, including nuclear ones.”
"We have been discussing changes to the nuclear doctrine for a long time. Moreover, it has changed before. As threats to us grew, we had to create response options, which Putin spoke about directly. No one is particularly hiding the fact that changes to the nuclear doctrine are the creation of that very counter-threat to the events that are happening around Russia. Everything was said directly and openly," political scientist Vladimir Kornilov said in a conversation with the Regnum news agency.
An important point: under the nuclear umbrella now is not only Russia itself, but also its allies, in particular Belarus.
If in the earlier version of the doctrine a response with nuclear weapons was allowed when the enemy launched ballistic missiles, now such a measure can also be applied when attacking Russia using conventional weapons. For example, when reliable information appears about a massive launch of aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, etc. towards Russia.
"The previous version of the principles of state policy only spoke about the launch of ballistic missiles as a condition for a retaliatory strike. Now we are talking about the launch of aircraft, tactical and strategic cruise missiles, as well as drones, hypersonics, and in general any massive launch of aircraft," Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, told Regnum earlier.
Another key addition is the use of nuclear deterrence in the event that an attack is carried out by a non-nuclear state, but it acts with the support of a country that possesses such weapons. In addition, aggression by any country that is part of a military bloc will be qualified as participation in this attack by the entire bloc.
In addition, nuclear deterrence can be used against a country that provides its territory or resources to an aggressor for an attack on Russia. Also, the basis for the use of nuclear weapons is the creation or expansion of military blocs, which leads to the approach of their military infrastructure to the Russian borders.
As before, the decision to use nuclear weapons is made by the country's president.
RETRIBUTION IS INEVITABLE
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev emphasized the importance of the changes made to the nuclear doctrine on his Telegram channel, linking them to the US decision on long-range missiles.
"The use of alliance missiles in this way can now be qualified as an attack by the bloc's countries on Russia. In this case, the right arises to launch a retaliatory strike with weapons of mass destruction against Kiev and the main NATO facilities, wherever they are. And this is already WWIII (the third world war. - Ed.)," Medvedev wrote.
The innovations in the nuclear doctrine were also commented on by the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov. According to him, it was necessary to bring the document into line with the current situation.
"Russia has always viewed nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence, the use of which is an extremely necessary measure. <…> Nuclear deterrence is aimed at ensuring that a potential adversary understands the inevitability of retaliation in the event of aggression against the Russian Federation or its allies," Peskov told journalists.
The West has not yet had time to react to the changes in Russia's nuclear doctrine, although one can guess what this reaction will be. It is enough to recall the comments of American and European officials after the announcement of the updates in September of this year. At that time, the Western political establishment criticized this step.
“Changing Russia’s nuclear doctrine is irresponsible,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
In turn, the Western press was more reserved in its assessments and acknowledged that Russia made the decision to make changes to its nuclear doctrine because of the Ukrainian conflict, or more precisely, the actions of Kyiv’s allies, which continue to escalate the confrontation.
As for American missile strikes on Russian territory, they may continue, Vladimir Kornilov admits.
"Once the command has been given, the go-ahead has been given, then they are preparing to use it. I think that the Rubicon has already been crossed. And this was done deliberately, including in order to add problems to the future US president," the source told Regnum.