Russian President Vladimir Putin signed this Tuesday the decree that expands the possibility of using nuclear weapons, two days after the US authorized Ukraine to attack Russian soil with long-range missiles.
Hours after the United States authorized Kiev to attack Russian soil with , the Russia He left a warning to his enemies: if he sees his sovereignty called into question, can use nuclear weapons.
The decree is signed when .
The “strategic planning document” includes the “official position on nuclear deterrence”, “defines the dangers and military threats against which nuclear deterrence can be acted upon” and guarantees a response to “aggression” from “a potential enemy”, either against Russia or “against its allies” – for example, Belarus.
The decree, published on the Russian authorities’ legal documents portal, aims to “improve state policy in the field of nuclear deterrence” and envisages its entry into force from the same date. signature of Vladimir Putin.
Putin had already warned, at the end of September, that his country could already use nuclear weapons in the event of a “massive launch” of air strikes against Russia and that any attack carried out by a non-nuclear country – such as Ukraine – but supported by a power with atomic weapons – such as the USA – could be considered a “joint” aggression – potentially requiring the use of nuclear weapons.
This action now appears in another context, after the US authorized Ukraine to attack Russian soil with long-range missiles.
In an analysis of Antena 1, the specialist Tiago André Lopes explains that this is a two-level response: “It’s a response to the United States; but it is also a pre-response to both France and the United Kingdom, at a time when they are discussing whether to give the same kind of permission to Ukraine.”
“What the Kremlin is trying to do is create a feeling that this type of action may have a more muscular reaction from Russia than has hitherto been legally possible,” he added.
The professor of International Relations at Universidade Lusíada do Porto also helped to understand the contours of the document, clarifying that the current situation is not enough to unlock the use of nuclear weapons.
“The document is quite clear: it only says that when Russia feels its sovereignty is threatened – and obviously attacks on Kursk do not threaten Russia’s sovereignty – it can activate the use of nuclear weapons. That is, Russia is trying to prevent attacks, for example, against Moscow; and against the idea of loss of territory. It is this type of threat that could lead to a nuclear response”, he explained.
US dangerous step?
On Sunday, the US President, Joe Bidenauthorized Ukraine to attack Russian territory with long range missiles supplied by the USA.
US missiles, with a maximum range of several hundred kilometers, will allow Ukraine target Russian army logistics locations and the airfields from which bombers take off.
The US-supplied ATACMS missiles were initially intended to be used in the Russian border region of Kursk, where North Korean soldiers were deployed to support Russian troops.
Washington’s decision to authorize Ukraine to use these missiles would have been, precisely, a reaction to the presence of the .
