President Putin Reminds The West, Russia Will Use Nuclear Weapons If Attacked By Conventional Missiles

JAKARTA - President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday that Russia could use nuclear weapons if attacked with conventional missiles, with Moscow would consider any attack against it supported by nuclear forces as a combined attack.

The decision to change Russia's official nuclear doctrine was the Kremlin's answer to considerations in the United States and Britain regarding granting permission to Ukraine to fire a conventional Western missile at Russia or not.

The change is a response to a rapidly changing global landscape that has created new threats and risks for Russia, President Putin said at the opening of a meeting of the Russian Security Council, quoted from TASS September 26.

The Kremlin chief said he wanted to underline one important change in particular.

"It is proposed that aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of the nuclear state, be considered as their combined attack on the Russian Federation," President Putin said.

"The condition for Russia's transition to nuclear weapons use is also clear," Putin said, adding Moscow would consider the move if it detected the start of a massive missile, aircraft, or drone launch against it.

In remarks at the Russian Security Council, a type of modern politburo consisting of Putin's most powerful officials including influential officials, President Putin said that the work on amendments to amend the doctrine had been going on over the past year.

"The nuclear triples remain the most important guarantee to ensure the security of our country and citizens, an instrument to maintain strategic parity and balance of power in the world," he explained. Putin.

Russia, he said, would consider using nuclear weapons "after receiving reliable information about the massive launch of aerospace attack vehicles and its crossing to the borders of our country, meaning strategic or tactical aircraft, cruise missiles, unmanned aircraft, hypersonic aircraft, and other aircraft."

Russia has the right to also use nuclear weapons if Russia or its ally, Belarus, is subjected to aggression, including with conventional weapons, President Putin said.

President Putin said the clarification had been carefully calibrated and commensurate with modern military threats facing Russia, confirming that the nuclear doctrine was changing.

The Russian nuclear documents currently published in President Putin's 2020 mission said Russia could use nuclear weapons in the event of a nuclear strike by an enemy or conventional attack that threatens the country's existence.

The innovations outlined by President Putin include the expansion of threats Russia will consider as nuclear attacks, the inclusion of Belarusian allies under the nuclear umbrella, and the idea that rival nuclear forces supporting conventional attacks on Russia will also be considered attacking them.

The United States in 2022 is deeply concerned about Russia's possible use of tactical nuclear weapons, warning Putin of the consequences of using the weapons, CIA Director Bill Burns said.

The Ukraine war, which has been going on for 2-1/2 years, sparked the most severe confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, a crisis that is considered the closest between the two Cold War superpowers to a nuclear war.

Russia itself is the country with the largest nuclear power in the world. Together, Russia and the US control 88 percent of the world's nuclear warheads.