Russia lowers the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons and includes the allied countries of Western nuclear powers (and Albania) in the list

The debate on Russia`s nuclear doctrine and the dynamic of the war in Ukraine led Putin to announce ―in late September― that he was reviewing “Russia`s nuclear doctrine” before signing it. The doctrine was “adjusted” by specialists from the Defense Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Security Council Apparatus, and other government agencies during the time the debate started. “The revised document has a broader list of countries and military alliances that are subject to nuclear deterrence” (yet to be published) while adding “more entries in the list of military threats, whose neutralization requires nuclear deterrence”.

The revised doctrine stipulates that “aggression against Russia by a non-nuclear country, but with the participation or support of a nuclear country, was proposed to be viewed as their joint attack on Russia”.  

The mentioned ‘aggression’ is based on the judgment of “reliable information about a massive takeoff of strategic or tactical planes towards Russia, or the launch of cruise missiles, drones, hypersonic weapons towards its territory may interpreted as sufficient reason for a nuclear response by Moscow”. It includes Russia`s ally, Belarus while adding that “critical threat to Russian sovereignty with conventional weapons will be sufficient for a nuclear response”.

The new doctrine, in other words, lowers the threshold on the use of nuclear weapons and expands the category of states subjected to nuclear deterrence, but only when Russia finds itself under a “critical” threat by conventional and non-conventional weapons, by both, nuclear powers and non-nuclear powers, acting together against Russia. Presumably, countries like my own country, would be subject to Russia`s nuclear attack. 

The aim of Putin is clear: he wants to put an end to the war in Ukraine by conventional means and stop western powers to allow Kiev to use long-range missiles inside Russia. This is a scenario or a direct warning to western powers and their allies that they either abandon the war and accept their defeat in Ukraine or be faced with a global nuclear war, through which, as I have showed in this study, Russia will win again and western powers will be defeated.