Russia will make changes to its doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons in response to what it regards as Western escalation in the war in Ukraine, state media quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Sunday.

The existing nuclear doctrine, set out in a decree by President Vladimir Putin in 2020, says Russia may use nuclear weapons in the event of a nuclear attack by an enemy or a conventional attack that threatens the existence of the state.

Some hawks among Russia’s military analysts have urged Putin to lower the threshold for nuclear use in order to “sober up” Russia’s enemies in the West.

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  • andyburke@fedia.io
    625·
    3 months ago

    I would have believed you a few years ago.

    At this point I think Putin has to have serious doubts that he could use a nuke and have it actually work. He’s up against both western tech and his own corruption.

    • Cosmonauticus@lemmy.worldEnglish
      143·
      3 months ago

      Yeah the problem is he only needs one to work. Even if it’s a dud Russia being nuked into oblivion will have long term ramifications for the entire globe

      • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        3 months ago

        We don’t have to Nuke Moscow, to effectively nuke Moscow. We invented the MOAB just to be able to do that. They have to rely on the dirty version.

      • Breezy@lemmy.worldEnglish
        41·
        3 months ago

        Yeah but it might humble the rest of the world a bit. No one will want to be next.