Putin's Nuclear Doctrine Questioned by Ally on TV

Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear doctrine has been questioned by his ally on state TV.

State TV host Vladimir Solovyov, one of the most-prominent figures in Kremlin-backed media, questioned a fellow pundit on his evening TV show on state channel Russia-1 on why Moscow isn't retaliating to Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil with the use of nuclear weapons.

Kremlin propagandists routinely warn that a nuclear war could break out amid the conflict in Ukraine, as well as strikes by Russia on NATO territory over aid and weapons provided by the Joe Biden administration and members of the military alliance to Kyiv.

During his June 23 show, Solovyov spoke at length with Yevgeny Buzhinsky, a retired Russian lieutenant-general, about Russia's nuclear doctrine, which lays out the conditions under which such weapons can be used.

Putin has said Moscow may justify the use of nuclear weapons if another nation uses them against Russia or if the "very existence of the state is put under threat."

"Putin outlined our position that there are no preventative or demonstrative strikes until this is necessary. It will be necessary to use it, but this is if something extraordinary happens in terms of the existence of our state," Buzhinsky told Solovyov.

Solovyov objected to this position, noting the strikes Ukraine has carried out on Russian soil amid the full-scale invasion which Putin launched in February 2022.

"And how will we know when something extraordinary happens? Earlier, what was extraordinary would be a strike on Belgorod, the deaths of civilians. What is extraordinary? A drone strike on the Kremlin, which was relatively recent. That's not extraordinary?" Solovyov asked.

Buzhinsky told Solovyov that he has "already talked about this."

"We have in the fundamentals of the policy of the Russian Federation in the field of nuclear deterrence all the cases when we can use nuclear weapons or must use nuclear weapons," Buzhinsky said.

"One of these points is striking state and military governments that challenge, or rather, that prevent the use of our means in a retaliatory strike," Buzhinsky added.

Solovyov interjected: "A strike on a nuclear power plant?"

"A strike on a nuclear power plant," Buzhinsky replied.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment by email.

Their exchange came days after Putin threatened to change Russia's nuclear doctrine over claims that the West is "lowering the threshold for nuclear weapon use."

Putin was speaking at a press conference on June 20 following his trip to North Korea and Vietnam and the warning came amid rising tensions between Russia and the West over Putin's war in Ukraine.

Russia is aware that a "potential adversary" is working on new elements "related to lowering the threshold of nuclear weapon use," Putin said.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, said on June 20 that Putin was likely responding in part to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's remarks on June 17 that members of the military alliance are discussing increased nuclear readiness in the face of growing threats from Russia and China, "even though Stoltenberg did not discuss lowering the threshold for nuclear weapon use."

Putin's rhetoric "deliberately aims to present Russia's aggression in Ukraine as an existential war for Russia's sovereignty," the ISW assessed.

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