1,000 days of Ukraine war: Putin signs new doctrine that lowers threshold for using nuclear weapons

Russian President Vladimir Putin

President Vladimir Putin on November 19 signed a revised nuclear doctrine declaring that a conventional attack on Russia by any nation supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country.

His endorsement of the policy comes as the Russia-Ukraine war completed 1,000 days today after Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, in a phone call with reporters, noted the changes mean that "Russian Federation reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in the event of aggression using conventional weapons against it and/or the Republic of Belarus".

Two days back, US President Joe Biden granted Ukraine permission to strike targets deep inside Russia with US-made longer-range missiles.

The signing of the doctrine, which says that any massive aerial attack on Russia could trigger a nuclear response, reflects Putin's readiness to threaten use of the country's nuclear arsenal to force the West to back down as Moscow presses a slow-moving offensive in Ukraine.

The doctrine, however, doesn't specify whether such an attack would necessarily trigger a nuclear response. It mentions the "uncertainty of scale, time and place of possible use of nuclear deterrent" among the key principles of the nuclear deterrence.

The Russian President had first announced changes in the nuclear doctrine in September.