MOSCOW, September 26. /TASS/. The adjustment of Russia’s nuclear doctrine by the decision of President Vladimir Putin does not require any special changes to the current legislation, Viktor Bondarev, the first deputy chairman of the Federation Council’s committee on defense and security, has told TASS.
"There is hope that we will be heard at least after yesterday's statement by our president. Changes to the nuclear doctrine, although they do not require any special amendments to the current legislation, are tantamount to reconsidering the criteria for Russia's use of nuclear weapons," the senator said.
Bondarev emphasized that these changes were long overdue and constituted a response "to the constant growth of tension in the rhetoric and direct actions in support of Ukraine on the part of the Western countries."
"In particular, the United States and Britain do not stop at directly threatening Russia with the so-called permission to use long-range high-accuracy weapons, which evoked a quite clear comment from Vladimir Putin: it is not just permission, it is a direct expression of aggressive plans concerning Russia," Bondarev noted.
He hopes that "the US, Britain and their puppets in the NATO bloc will have enough common sense not to bring the situation to the point of no return, deadly for the entire planet."
"If necessary, I am sure that nothing will stop us from a retaliatory strike that would mean the end of all life on the globe," Bondarev concluded.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a session of the permanent meeting of the Security Council on nuclear deterrence on September 25. Previously, such events have not been public. This time, the public part included an introductory speech by the head of state, who spoke about the draft updated nuclear doctrine. At the same time, the body itself within the structure of the Security Council has existed for a long time. It was created to work out decisions on the country's nuclear policy.
The current version of Russia’s nuclear doctrine was approved in June 2020. It replaced a similar document adopted 10 years earlier.