Vladimir Putin has escalated his nuclear rhetoric, warning that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons if attacked by any state with conventional weapons. The remarks came during a meeting with Russia's security council on Wednesday, where he also announced changes to the country's nuclear doctrine.
The comments mark Russia's strongest warning yet against the West allowing Ukraine to launch long-range strikes into Russian territory using Western missiles. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been seeking permission for months to use British Storm Shadow and US-made Atacms missiles for deeper strikes inside Russia.
Putin stated that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons if Moscow received 'reliable information' about a massive launch of missiles, aircraft, or drones against it. He also warned that a nuclear power supporting another country's attack on Russia would be considered a participant in aggression, a thinly veiled threat to the West.
Putin said the clarifications were carefully calibrated to match modern military threats. 'We see the modern military and political situation is dynamically changing and we must take this into consideration,' he said. Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, dismissed the new doctrine as nuclear blackmail that 'will not work.'
In the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin frequently invoked Moscow's nuclear arsenal. He later moderated his rhetoric, but officials have recently warned Nato countries they risk provoking nuclear war if they allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons.
