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Russia’s renewed nuclear doctrine unlikely to alter special mil-op’s nature — senator

The fundamental principle of the doctrine is that the use of nuclear weapons is a measure of last resort to protect the country’s sovereignty

MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. Russia’s renewed nuclear doctrine is intended to ensure the country’s strategic stability and do not envision any changes to the special military operation zone, Vladimir Bulavin, a senior official with the Russian Parliament’s upper house told TASS on Tuesday.

"Regarding the document’s possible impact on the current situation, I should say it is aimed primarily at ensuring strategic stability and predictability," Bulavin, the head of the Russian Federation Council’s Defense and Security Committee, said.

"This document does not imply a swift change in the nature of the [ongoing combat] operations, but sets a clear-cut framework and principles for ensuring the security of the country under the present-day conditions," he continued.

The senator pointed out that Russia had always viewed nuclear weapons exclusively as a deterrent tool, the use of which is possible only in strictly defined cases of extreme necessity, and the new document provides for the development of these basic principles taking into account present-day challenges.

Earlier on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree approving the Foundations of State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence, the country’s updated nuclear doctrine. The document has been published.

The fundamental principle of the doctrine is that the use of nuclear weapons is a measure of last resort to protect the country’s sovereignty.

The emergence of new military threats and risks prompted Russia to clarify the conditions for the use of nuclear weapons. In particular, the amended doctrine expands the range of countries and military alliances subject to nuclear deterrence, as well as the list of military threats that such deterrence is designed to counter.

In addition, the document states that Russia will now view any attack by a non-nuclear country supported by a nuclear power as a joint attack. Moscow also reserves the right to consider a nuclear response to a conventional weapons attack threatening its sovereignty, a large-scale launch of enemy aircraft, missiles, and drones targeting Russian territory, their crossing of the Russian border, and an attack on its ally Belarus.