WASHINGTON: The United States condemned Russia’s “irresponsible rhetoric” Tuesday after Vladimir Putin approved changes in the country’s nuclear doctrine under which Russia will consider any attack on its territory by a non-nuclear country supported by a nuclear power as a joint attack.
A spokesperson of the US National Security Council told AFP, “This is more of the same irresponsible rhetoric from Russia, which we have seen for the past two years.”
Putin’s move came after Washington reportedly allowed Ukraine to fire long-range US-made missiles into Russian territory, with Moscow saying Kyiv had used the weapons for the first time on Tuesday, Al Jazeera reported.
Russia has said that Ukraine’s use of long-range ATACMS missiles against its territory marked a “new phase of the Western war” against Moscow, and has said it will react “accordingly”.
Moscow said Ukraine used the US-made missiles to target a military facility in Russia’s Bryansk border region overnight, just days after Washington gave the green light for Kyiv to use the long-range weapons against Russian targets.
The revised doctrine allows Moscow to consider a nuclear response to a conventional weapons attack threatening its sovereignty, a large-scale launch of enemy aircraft, missiles, and drones targeting Russian territory, their crossing of the Russian border, and an attack on its ally Belarus, TASS reported.
The US National Security Council spokesperson said that “we were not surprised by Russia’s announcement that it would update its nuclear doctrine” and that Moscow had been “signalling its intent” to do so for several weeks, AFP reported.
“Observing no changes to Russia’s nuclear posture, we have not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture or doctrine in response to Russia’s statements today.”
Meanwhile, EU top diplomat Josep Borrell accused Russia of issuing “completely irresponsible” nuclear threats.
“It is not the first time that Putin plays the nuclear gamble,” the outgoing foreign policy chief told reporters following defence minister talks in Brussels, AFP reported.
“Russia has subscribed to the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won, and so must never be fought,” he said.
US officials have previously confirmed, as reported by AFP, that outgoing President Joe Biden, who is attending a G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, gave the green light for ally Kyiv to use long-range missiles against Russia.
While the White House has not done so on the record, it has hinted that the move is a response to Russia’s use of North Korean soldiers against Ukraine.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said Ukraine had struck Russia’s Bryansk region with six missiles, and that air defence systems intercepted five and damaged one, Al Jazeera reported.
“This is, of course, a signal that they want to escalate,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking at a Group of 20 (G20) news conference in Brazil, said of the attack.
“We will be taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia. And we will react accordingly,” he added.
