After the U.S. allowed Ukraine to use longer-range U.S.-made missiles on Russian targets, Vladimir Putin has updated Russia's nuclear-use policy to include more scenarios.

Moscow

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

Vladimir Putin has revised Russia's nuclear-use policy, incorporating new circumstances under which nuclear weapons could be employed. This update follows the United States' decision to allow Ukraine to utilize longer-range American-made missiles against targets deep within Russian territory. Under the updated directive, any aggression from non-nuclear countries, such as Ukraine, will be interpreted as a joint attack on Russia if a nuclear-armed nation like the U.S. is involved. Consequently, Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons even in response to conventional attacks.

This policy enhancement permits the potential use of nuclear weapons at any given moment, considering recent reports that Ukraine has used American-made long-range missiles to strike Russian positions within the country. Such capabilities increase the vulnerability of Russian airfields, ammunition depots, and fuel storage sites. Previously, U.S. officials had analyzed the likelihood of a nuclear weapon deployment by Putin during the Ukraine conflict, estimating a 50 percent probability at one point, based on a report by journalist Bob Woodward.

Although the Biden administration's permission for Ukrainian missile strikes could create complications for incoming President-elect Donald Trump's plans to resolve the Ukraine conflict swiftly, analysts suggest that this situation could also serve as leverage for Ukraine. These developments add complexity to the geopolitical landscape, influencing both regional and strategic calculations for the involved parties.



Putin lowers threshold for using nuclear arsenal

Vladimir Putin once again rattles his nuclear saber at his enemies, the Russian president updating his stance on nuclear weapons just a couple of days after President Biden gave Ukraine permission to hit targets deep inside Russia with American-made weapons. Under Putin's new directive, Russia will consider aggression from any non-nuclear country like Ukraine as a joint attack on Russia if there's participation of a nuclear-armed country like the U.S. And at that point, according to Putin's spokesperson, Russia, quote, reserves the right to use nuclear weapons, even if only conventional weapons are used against Russia. Any time the Russian president threatens use of nuclear weapons, it means he's scared, because that is like his fallback when he's very nervous. Under Putin's new stance, Russia could basically use nuclear weapons at any time, since U.S. officials say the Ukrainians in recent days have already used American-made long-range missiles to strike Russian targets well inside Russia. It will enable the Ukrainians to put at risk airfields and ammunition dumps and fuel depots that will, again, disrupt the Russians. The key question tonight, what are the chances Vladimir Putin really would use nuclear weapons in Ukraine? We can't dismiss it, but we have some evidence that he doesn't use it in the past, and we know that he's not suicidal. There's immediate literal fallout. So there's political fallout in Russia, but also fallout which strikes Russian troops, Russian civilians. Still, at one point during the Ukraine war, according to journalist Bob Woodward's new book War, President Biden's national security team assessed there was a 50 percent chance Putin would use nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine. And CNN's Jim Sciutto reported the U.S. prepared, quote, rigorously for that possibility in late 2022. It would have been the first nuclear attack in war since the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. Putin's latest nuclear threat, on the heels of Biden's green light for Ukraine to use long-range missiles inside Russia, could complicate President-elect Donald Trump's plans to end the Ukraine war quickly after he gets into office. On the other hand. I think it strengthens Donald Trump's hand as he enters office because he will have a Ukraine that continues to have a bargaining chip, a Ukraine that can potentially pressure the Russian president. When asked if the Biden administration's green light for Ukraine to use those long-range American-made missiles deep inside Russia was an escalation, two analysts CNN spoke to said that was no escalation compared to how Putin has escalated repeatedly in this war, including the move to bring in at least 10,000 North Korean troops to join his side in the fight.

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Ukraine Invasion