September 25, 2024
On September 25, 2024 President Vladimir Putin made a short public statement on new principles for employment of nuclear weapons (NW} by Russia. It was made at the special gathering called the Permanent Meeting on Nuclear Deterrence.
The highlights of his remarks are as follows.
The draft principles of NW employment expand the category of states and military alliances in relation to which nuclear deterrence is carried out.
Aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, is considered as their joint attack on the Russian Federation.
The use of NW is an extreme measure to protect the country's sovereignty.
It will be used in the event of aggression against Russia and Belarus, if the enemy, using conventional weapons, creates a critical threat to their sovereignty.
Russia will also take inro account the emergence of new sources of military threats and risks for Russia and its allies.
NW will be used upon receipt of reliable information about a massive launch of air and space attack weapons and their crossing of Russia’s state border, including strategic and tactical aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, hypersonic and other flying vehicles.
NOTES: Thus, Moscow has widened the scope and added some new preconditions for using of its national NW. In this context NW means strategic and tactical NW.
1. These updates are mainly linked with a combined direct and unprovoked Ukrainian-NATO aggression against Russia that was started since April 14, 2014, and is widely and qualitatively escalating by them.
2. The newest nuclear strategy will be conditional in nature:
NW will be used if Russia and Belarus are attacked.
3. The updated NW employment strategy will amend the current one enacted in Juny 2020.
4. The newest NW employment strategy will be published and enacted later –
after the relevant presidential decree is signed.
Written by Vladimir P. Kozin
