Kremlin: Putin to Revise Russia's Nuclear Doctrine

Facts

• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia has started bringing its nuclear doctrine 'into line with current realities.'¹
• This confirmation comes a day after the parliament's defense committee chairman, Andrei Kartapolov, said Russia could amend its rules regarding how and when it can use nuclear weapons.²
• In 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin had said that the country would use nuclear weapons if it faced an existential threat. Russia is the world's largest nuclear warhead stockpile.³
• In 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin had said that the country would use nuclear weapons if it faced an existential threat. Russia is the world's largest nuclear warhead stockpile.⁴
• Last week, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin had explained that a review of Russia's nuclear doctrine was necessary because its 'potential adversary' is 'lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons,' especially via the development of 'ultra-low-power nuclear explosive devices.'⁵
• Meanwhile, NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told The Telegraph that the military alliance is engaged in consultations to remove some of its nuclear warheads from storage and place them on standby.⁶

Sources: ¹NBC, ²Reuters, ³Independent, ⁴France 24, ⁵TASS and ⁶The Telegraph.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by AntiWar. NATO needs to face up to its failure in Ukraine and support genuine peace negotiations, which have been a possibility since well before Russia invaded. Ukraine is in a far worse negotiating position now compared to when the US sabotaged a near-peace agreement in 2022. If NATO continues along its current path of escalation, the risk of nuclear war with Russia will only increase.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Atlantic. The Russian government's almost daily threats to use nuclear weapons have become central to its propaganda, which seeks to inspire fear in NATO countries, discourage it from entering the war in Ukraine, and limit the supply of military assistance to Ukraine. The West must not be deterred in its support of Ukraine, and its best chance of containing Russia's nuclear threat is to ensure the Kremlin is defeated in Ukraine.

Predictions