The key factor of the updated doctrine is that Russia retains the right for a retaliatory nuclear strike in response to an aggression with conventional forces and arms against it, Igor Korotchenko stated
The changes in the #Russian nuclear doctrine announced by President Vladimir Putin are due to the deterioration of the military-political situation in the world and new threats and security challenges to the Russian Federation, Igor Korotchenko, Editor-in-Chief of the National Defense Journal writes.
It is clear that the beginning of the special military operation (in Ukraine) and the creation of a western coalition of Russian military adversaries who back Ukraine have created absolutely new security challenges and threats.
The key factor of the updated doctrine is that Russia retains the right for a retaliatory nuclear strike in response to an aggression with conventional forces and arms against it. Besides, the aggression can come from a non-nuclear country backed by a nuclear power. We believe that if NATO begins combat actions against Russia collectively or in a coalition or by a single non-nuclear country, Russia can retaliate by engaging nuclear weapons.
Russia did not plan it before, but now the doctrine allows it. What does it mean? For instance, it is the deployment by Poland of a military contingent in Ukraine and its engagement in combat against Russia or if Romania and Poland begin to down Russian aircraft or cruise missiles over Ukraine. Moscow will consider it an aggression from the point of view of the international law and will have the right to engage nuclear weapons against military targets in the mentioned countries.
If the United States delivers a strike at us with air or seaborne cruise missiles, we shall now consider it a casus belli and can retaliate by nuclear weapons at the USA. It is the supreme commander-in-chief to decide whether strikes by long-range precision US or UK missiles deep in Russia from the territory of Ukraine should be considered a casus belli. He will decide how Russia would react in any specific case and which weapons – conventional or nuclear - to engage.
It is a completely new development, which was not listed in the previous doctrine. In case of a #NATO collective or single-country aggression against Russia with conventional weapons, we shall consider the US, the UK and France to be the three nuclear allies. No strikes with conventional cruise missiles deep in Russia are possible without US planning, intelligence, and satellite navigation. Therefore, Russia will consider it a possibility for nuclear retaliation.
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