Western actions will influence Russia’s renewed nuclear doctrine: Kremlin

Moscow: Russia will consider the actions of the US and its allies such as their refusal to engage in dialogue, when revising its nuclear doctrine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok on Wedn esday, Peskov noted that Russia is revising its current nuclear doctrine and developing new approaches in response to the current state of affairs and Western actions, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said that these actions include the refusal of Western countries to engage in dialogue with Russia, their attack on Russian interests and security, and their role in provoking a continuation of the war in Ukraine.

“This cannot but have consequences. All of this is being taken into account in Moscow and will form the basis for proposals that will be formulated,” Peskov said.

Russia has said recently it was set to make changes to the policy setting out the circumstances for its use of nuclear weapons, but has not yet detailed the changes.

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

The revisions come “against the backdrop of the challenges and threats provoked by the countries of the so-called collective West”, Peskov told the media.

Moscow is taking into account the possibility of Ukraine using US-supplied long-range weapons in its attacks deep into the Russian territory, he added.

Ukraine has long urged its allies to let it fire Western weapons at targets far into enemy territory, and those calls have grown louder as Russian steps up airstrikes on Ukrainian energy and other infrastructure as well as apartment blocks.

“It is obvious that the Ukrainians will do this,” RIA cited Peskov as saying. “We are taking all this into account.”

At least 50 people were killed and 271 wounded when Russia hit a military institute in Ukraine’s central town of Poltava with two ballistic missiles on Tuesday, in the year’s single deadliest attack of the war.

–IANS