MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. Russia’s renewed nuclear doctrine stipulates a potential nuclear strike in response to Kiev’s use of Western-made conventional missiles against Russia, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
"It [the Fundamentals of Russia’s State Nuclear Deterrence Policy] also stipulates that the Russian Federation reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in case of aggression with the use of conventional weapons against it and (or) the Republic of Belarus as a member of the Union State that create a critical threat to their sovereignty and (or) their territorial integrity," the Russian presidential spokesman said.
"Yes, it stipulates this," Peskov said, responding to a reporters’ question about whether Russia would consider the use of Western-made conventional missiles by the Ukrainian armed forces as an element of an attack by a non-nuclear state with the support of a nuclear state and whether this could trigger Russia’s nuclear response.
The Kremlin spokesman suggested that media representatives familiarize themselves with the document published today and analyze it. He also highlighted the doctrine’s provisions that "aggression against the Russian Federation by any non-nuclear state with the participation or support of a nuclear state is viewed as their joint attack."
"This is also a very important paragraph," he stressed.