Russia is considering changes to its nuclear strategy due to concerns about Western policies on nuclear weapons. President Putin hinted at adapting Russia’s nuclear doctrine to maintain global balance and deter potential threats. This comes amidst discussions about low-yield nuclear arms and their implications for warfare. While Russia insists it won’t initiate a nuclear attack, it’s reviewing conditions under which it might use nuclear weapons defensively. Experts warn against underestimating the risks, emphasizing that any use of nuclear weapons, regardless of size, could escalate into a full-scale nuclear conflict. This move signals Russia’s firm stance on nuclear deterrence amid evolving international tensions.
During a June 21 meeting with graduates of major military educational institutes, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed plans for the advancement of the Russian nuclear triad to secure strategic deterrence and maintain the global balance of power.
The Russian president said earlier during a press conference in Vietnam that Moscow is thinking about revising its national nuclear doctrine in light of Western efforts to reduce the threshold for using nuclear weapons. Putin specifically mentioned Western military experts who were debating the possibility of using low-yield nuclear weapons sparingly.
The president made it plain that Russia does not intend to include a preemptive nuclear strike in its doctrine since a counterattack would unquestionably annihilate the opponent.
Dmitry Kornev, the creator of the Military Russia portal, claims that Putin is making a very obvious statement to the West. He does not, however, anticipate significant adjustments to Russia’s nuclear strategy.
“There are no changes related to… strategic nuclear forces, the deployment of nuclear weapons, etc., in the basic documents,” said Kornev.
The Fundamentals of Nuclear Deterrence State Policy, released on June 2, 2020, states that four factors could lead to Russia using nuclear weapons:
- receipt of reliable information about the launch of ballistic missiles attacking the territories of the Russian Federation and/or its allies;
- the enemy’s use of nuclear weapons or other types of weapons of mass destruction on the territories of the Russian Federation and/or its allies;
- the adversary is acting against critical Russian government or military installations, which could disrupt the response of Russian nuclear forces;
- aggression against the Russian Federation with the use of conventional weapons, when the very existence of the state is threatened.
“A more detailed description of these conditions may most likely follow,” Kornev assumed.
Professor at the Higher School of Economics and retired Lieutenant-General Yevgeny Buzhinsky, chairman of the executive board of the think tank PIR-Center, says there is no mystery that low-yield nuclear weapons exist already.
“Low-yield nuclear weapons are those in the range from 0.5 to 50 kilotons,” said Buzhinsky. “What was dropped on Hiroshima at one time (20 kilotons) could be called a low-yield bomb, according to current definitions.”
Furthermore, Buzhinsky stated that he saw no use for “miniaturizing” nuclear weapons.
The former lieutenant general brought up the fact that the Trump administration was considering fitting cruise missiles with nuclear bombs that may produce little explosions in 2018. According to Team Trump, it would give the US “a needed non-strategic regional presence” to meet “the increasing need for flexible and low-yield options” in foreign policy.
The US specifically thought about producing nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missiles (SLCM-N) and mounting them on attack submarines stationed in the Asia-Pacific and North Atlantic.
The Biden administration terminated the SLCM-N project in 2022, but it was most recently resurrected under the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024, citing China’s purported ambitions to “invade” Taiwan and Russia’s special military operation.
The limited impact of low-yield nuclear bombs, according to American proponents, would prevent a full-scale nuclear reprisal.
“If conflict crosses the nuclear threshold, lower yields would signal a clear interest in limiting its intensity,” claimed Lieutenant Commander Alan Cummings, US Navy Reserve, in his op-ed for US Naval Institute in April.
There should be no misconceptions about limited nuclear strikes, in Kornev’s opinion.
“Nuclear weapons have no threshold. Everywhere in the world it is believed that the use of nuclear weapons is the use of nuclear weapons, no matter what power, no matter what targets,” the pundit emphasized.
Russia has cautioned the US several times not to reduce the nuclear threshold. The Russian Foreign Ministry’s Maria Zakharova noted in 2020 that “those who like to theorize about the flexibility of American nuclear potential must understand that in line with Russian military doctrine such actions are seen as warranting retaliatory use of nuclear weapons by Russia.”
Recently, GreatGameIndia reported that speaking at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Russian President Putin warned the US and NATO about arming Ukraine, suggesting he might supply long-range missiles to Western adversaries in response.