Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has warned that Moscow could amend its nuclear doctrine due to "the unacceptable and escalatory actions" of the West.
Ryabkov's warnings come days after President Vladimir Putin told the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that his country's nuclear doctrine is "a living instrument" that can be changed.
The Context
The warnings come amid rising tensions between Russia and the West over Putin's ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine.
Russia's nuclear doctrine lays out the conditions under which it can use such weapons. 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."
What We Know
The deputy foreign minister didn't elaborate on what specific changes could be made, but said recent actions by the U.S. and Ukraine's other NATO allies were forcing Moscow to think the decision through.
"The challenges that are multiplying as a result of the unacceptable and escalatory actions of the United States and its NATO allies, without any doubt, raise before us the full question of how the basic documents in the field of nuclear deterrence can be brought more into line with current needs," Ryabkov was cited by Russia's state-run news agency Interfax as saying.
His remarks come as Moscow's relations with Washington hit a new low over Ukraine's reported use of American-supplied weapons against Russian territory.
Facing growing pressure from Ukraine and its NATO allies, the U.S. on May 30 granted Ukraine permission to use some American-supplied weapons to strike limited targets in Russia.
Kyiv may use some weapons against Russian territory bordering northeast Ukraine for the purpose of defending its Kharkiv region, but the use of long-range missiles such as ATACMS is still prohibited, a U.S. official told Newsweek.
Putin warned in response that he could arm the West's adversaries with long-range missiles.
"If someone thinks it is possible to supply such weapons to a war zone to attack our territory and create problems for us, why don't we have the right to supply weapons of the same class to regions of the world where there will be strikes on sensitive facilities of those countries?" Putin told reporters on Wednesday.
"That is, the response can be asymmetric. We will think about it," he added.
Putin has said since September 2022 that Russia would be prepared to use nuclear weapons to defend its "territorial integrity."
Views
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, assessed last week that Putin's comments on Russia's nuclear doctrine suggest that Ukraine using Western weapons to strike targets on Russian territory does not cross a Russian "red line."
"Putin stated that Russia's nuclear doctrine calls for Russia to only use nuclear weapons in the event of 'exceptional cases' of threats to Russia's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the ISW said.
The think tank continued: "Putin stated that he does not think such an 'exceptional' case has arisen so 'there is no such need' for Russia to use nuclear weapons."
The ISW noted that Ukraine's military is reported to have recently struck targets in Russia's Belgorod region which borders Ukraine using U.S.-provided weapons.
"Putin's June 7 statement is a significant rhetorical reversal given that Putin and other Kremlin officials have previously threatened Russian nuclear weapon use should Western states allow Ukraine to strike into Russian territory with Western-provided weapons," the ISW said.
"Many of Russia's 'red lines' are most likely information operations designed to push the West to self-deter," the think tank added.
What's Next?
Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that Russia is "carefully watching what is happening in the world around us and do not exclude making some changes to this doctrine."
"This is also related to the testing of nuclear weapons," he added.
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
