Putin issues warning to United States with new nuclear doctrine

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a warning to the United States on Tuesday, lowering the threshold for a nuclear strike just days after the administration of Joe Biden reportedly allowed Ukraine to fire American missiles deep into Russia.

The updated doctrine, formally known as “The basics of state policy in the field of nuclear deterrence”, outlines the threats that would make Russia, the world’s biggest nuclear power, contemplate using such weapons.

Russia would consider a nuclear strike if it, or its ally Belarus, faced aggression “with the use of conventional weapons that created a critical threat to their sovereignty and (or) their territorial integrity”, the new doctrine said.

The previous doctrine, set out in a 2020 decree, said Russia may use nuclear weapons in case of a nuclear attack by an enemy or a conventional attack that threatened the existence of the state.

Read more: Reuters